


Fading the Sky Away

by YouarethereasonIwrite



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Falling In Love, Light Angst, Multi, Polyamory, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Trans Character, Volleyball
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2018-07-17 23:00:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 33,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7289473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouarethereasonIwrite/pseuds/YouarethereasonIwrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinata Shouyou is a first year in Karasuno High School aiming to be the ace in his volleyball club. He aims to win Interhigh with his hardworking team, but it's kind of hard when every opponent he meets starts falling in love with him. Will dating his "enemies" hinder him or help him in the long run? </p><p>In which everything is the same except Hinata is dating almost every one of his opponents in the original series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: A familiar setting

**Author's Note:**

> yoooo 
> 
> guess who has 7 waiting fanfics but isn't updating them??? me this bitch hello yes me
> 
> instead, I'm releasing all the chapters I have written so far the next few days (lol it's just like 4 chapters guys) and I'll be attempting to write this while also juggling school, part time jobs, and the constant looming fear of death. 
> 
> anyway, this is gonna be a long next few years guys. Buckle in because I'm about to have the first few chapters be the same plot as the original, but with a few minor details. That said, sorry for it being unbeta'd and for my nasty shippy self releasing this chaos onto the world. also for plot holes, unoriginal shit (yes hello welcome to fanfiction dot net in which i will tell you a bunch of disclaimers: haikyuu belongs to Furudate Haruichi not me), and ooc characters. Also, expect badass Hinata cause hell yeah!
> 
> Btw, HUGE NOTE: I have no fucking idea where this fic is going

 

 

 

In the midst of chaos after the volleyball game he played against the infamous setter, Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou finds himself seeking out said setter to confront him as an enemy. He can’t help the tears escaping from his parched throat as the wind sways his tired, tiny body back and forth on the top of the stairs, the only time he’s actually tall. Despite being “taller” than Kageyama at the moment, Hinata can’t help but feel like an ant compared to him.

“If you’re the king that rules the court…” He sucks in a deep breath as an onslaught of more tears pour out of his shimmering eyes. “I’ll have to defeat you, and I’ll be the last one standing!” Kageyama’s narrow eyes widen at the sight of the blubbering mess of the golden boy in front of him. He blinks before his mean frown is back on his face. 

“The last ones standing are the victors. Only the strongest. If you want to be the last one standing, become strong.” He says matter of factly as the wind blows across their hair. The tense atmosphere suffocates Hinata, but he doesn’t let it show on his face. No, he allows the taste of defeat to boil in his gut as he glares back at Kageyama, his fated rival. They end up having a glaring contest before the raven haired male abruptly turns around and walks away. Hinata surveys his back, the tall, intimidating figure disappearing into the last of the sun’s rays. 

_ What I’m lacking…  _ He thinks somberly to himself, his friends bounding down the last of the steps to sate their curiosity when they were watching Hinata talk to Kageyama. They startle when Hinata bows at them at an imperfect 90 degree angle, but still a bow nonetheless. Hinata’s supportive friends turn red as Hinata thanks them, both of them looking away in an uncharacteristically tsundere moment. 

“You don’t have to thank us.” Yukitaka Izumi chides him. Water dribbles down his cheeks when Kouji Sekimukai teases him about crying, even though he is as well. Hinata smiles fondly at his two friends before a hand covers his blotchy face, and a cheery voice settles comfortably in his ears. His watery smile grows bigger at the large hands and the familiar voice.

“Yoohoo, Shou-chan!” Hinata pries the coarse hands over his face off and faces the taller person with stars shining in his eyes. It wasn’t often that he could see Oikawa Tooru since they lived in different parts of Japan. So naturally, the orange head was very  _ very  _ jubilant at finding the brunette at one of his matches. Next to him, a certain black haired wing spiker was staring at Hinata with a blank face but a bright light in his midnight eyes.

“Tooru! Hajime!” Hinata exclaimed excitedly, literally bouncing up and down as Oikawa swept him up into a sweet embrace. He melted into the warm arms of his lover, who was smacked dutifully in the face by Iwaizumi, Hinata’s other lover. 

“Hey, Shouyou.” Iwaizumi greeted back, nodding respectfully at Yukitaka and Kouji. They both smiled at their friend’s boyfriend, who was much more polite and reserved than the other male, who merely whined at the abuse he suffered daily from his boyfriend.

“Shou-chan! Iwa-chan is being mean to me!” Hinata held Oikawa with a sunny smile, patting his chestnut hair soothingly. Years of taking care of his baby sister really helped him become a loving mother hen (and yes, he was comparing Oikawa to a little child).

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “Stop being a baby, Shittykawa.” Hinata laughed at his statement, resulting in a light bubblegum hue sprinkling across Iwaizumi’s tan face. The orange haired male beamed at Iwaizumi and held out his hand for him to take, which the ace had no problem whatsoever in doing so. Hinata’s friends pretended to gag at their polyamorous friend’s antics, and Hinata rolled his eyes at their actions. They were still as childish as ever.

“You played very well, chibi!” Oikawa said with a huge grin. His grin soured. “But you were playing against Tobio, so..” Hinata nodded gravely. He understood the feeling of mutual anger at the genius setter, something which spurred their relationship early on, when Oikawa later offered to train his boyfriend in the upcoming battle between Hinata’s school versus Kageyama’s. It was all last minute though, so although Hinata improved immensely, he was still not as good as he wanted in the match. Regardless, he was still happy from actually playing in the match, and he didn’t want the thought of Kageyama of all people to ruin his mood. 

“Thanks, Tooru!” Hinata pecked a delighted Oikawa on the cheek and rubbed Iwaizumi’s hand as he stared at both of them with a grateful smile. “Thanks for coming all this way to watch my first ever match!” 

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” Iwaizumi seriously stated, kissing the fringe of Hinata’s wild sunset curls. Hinata giggled. Oikawa tenderly smiled at their boyfriend, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“You’re such a sap, Iwa-chan!” He teased, but immediately shut up when Iwaizumi shot him a warning glare and rose his unoccupied hand as a threat. Oikawa hid behind his short boyfriend, which was a comical sight considering Hinata was nearly a foot shorter than him. 

“Save me, Shouyou!” He squealed, butting his head affectionately against Hinata’s head while he crouched. Iwaizumi snorted. 

“Why did I agree to date this idiot again?” 

“I ask myself that everyday, Hajime.” Hinata decided to join in on the fun. He winked at Iwaizumi; the male returned the gesture with a cheesy grin before turning back to a betrayed Oikawa. The brunette pouted at the realization of his two boyfriends suddenly ganging up on him and crossed his arms, standing up to his full height. He slinked away from Hinata and stood directly next to his lover’s friends, who waved cheerfully at him. 

“Meanies…” The setter muttered. He puffed up his cheeks childishly, much like Hinata’s usual pout. He glared at Hinata. “You traitor.” Hinata stuck out his tongue at Oikawa before sticking to Iwaizumi’s side and nuzzling his arm. Oikawa whined louder at the interaction between the couple as he tried to use his puppy eyes on the two. He was utterly dumbstruck and upset when they basically ignored him in favor of exchanging kisses. 

“Get a room, lovebirds!” Kouji yelped.

“Yeah, go and get some, Shouyou!” Yukitaka hollered, receiving a smack in the head from Kouji and Oikawa at the same time. Oikawa instantly clung onto his comrade, Kouji, while sticking his tongue out and pulling down his eyelid like a stereotypical anime character trying to rouse their opponent childishly but either utterly failing and being called a child or looking like an idiot. Amazing.

Hinata chortled loudly and held out his hand towards his whiny piss baby of a boyfriend. Like a dog, the brunette ran back over to his “owner” and began pressing fluttery kisses across Hinata’s face. Oikawa met Iwaizumi halfway in a sweet kiss, one which caused Iwaizumi to smile slightly. 

“That was a good game.” Iwaizumi hummed, allowing his two clingy boyfriends to swing on his nicely muscled arms. Oikawa swooned, Hinata following the action with a silly smile on his face. Kouji and Yukitaka probably couldn’t take the fact that they were forever single anymore (they were seriously contemplating dating each other at this point) and waved to their friend and his boyfriends lazily. They left the trio in a comfortable silence, a gust of wind ruffling their different colored hair. 

“I’m so excited to play more games in the future, to be honest.” Hinata mused aloud, bumping his head against Oikawa’s chin when the other annoyingly puckered up his lips at him. This was a serious moment after all, and Hinata still felt like utter shit. Losing wasn’t all just fun and games, and Kageyama’s scowling face flashed in his mind. 

“Come to Aoba Jousai with us!” Oikawa whines. Hinata shakes his head, starry eyes from dried tears turned up at the bright, orange sky. His boyfriends watch him with awe as a large grin the size of the sun sparkles on his face, lighting up the tiny dusting of freckles on his face. At that moment, the setting sun halos around his form, and Oikawa and Iwaizumi felt a rush of affection and love stir in their hearts.

“I’m going to Karasuno!” Oikawa gulped down the stardust as Iwaizumi copied his action. Hinata didn’t pay attention as he stared at a murder of crows flying across the sunset painted sky. 

“Okay.” That’s all his boyfriends can say. The orange haired male beams up at them with crinkled eyes and he’s never looked utterly peaceful--  _ beautiful,  _ their stunned minds supply --like  _ this  _ before. The raven haired male clears his throat awkwardly and pats Hinata’s head. The shorter male’s still smiling as he grabs both of his lover’s hands and entwines their coarse fingers together. 

“Osu! I’m going to beat Kageyama!” Hinata jumps up in glee and determination, his lovers’ hands the only thing restraining him from flying away. Iwaizumi and Oikawa exchange breathless smiles.

“Osu!” 

  
  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  
  


“What the hell are you doing here?!” Hinata yelped (read: squeaked) at the sight of his fated rival practicing serves in the gym. Immediately after his loud yell, the volleyball in Kageyama’s hands hit the setter’s head in an undignified way. The raven haired male looks absolutely murderous, but Hinata’s used to Iwaizumi’s pissed off face to actually be threatened. Instead, he crosses his arms and glares back at Kageyama, an open challenge that Kageyama is more than willing to take up. However, before they can kill each other, a tall, dad figure looking male walks in through the gym doors with two men flanking his sides. One with a shaved head holds a menacing glare that directs itself to the two freshman while the pretty person with silver moonlight hair and a cute eye mole smiles warmly at them. 

“Are you here for the volleyball team?” Hinata blinks while Kageyama averts his eyes nervously, probably not used to being in such an angelic presence. The orange head remains unfazed as he bobs his head up and down excitedly. 

“Yeah! This is where the “Little Giant” played!” 

“Who’s that?” The pretty person asks politely, indulging the shorter male like a doting parent would. The dad like figure pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales in fond exasperation. Meanwhile, the bald headed man glares openly at Kageyama, daring the other to fight him. 

“He’s my role model!” Hinata yelps in excitement, bouncing on the balls of his heels. The silver haired male giggles at the utter joy emitting from the fluff ball and smiles warmly at Hinata. “And I’m going to overcome him one day!” Immediately, his words slice through the air as a wild look appears in his eyes. The trio combined shudder at the sudden eerie atmosphere change and regard Hinata with looks ranging between curiosity, bewilderment, awe, and fear. Kageyama stands a little taller, his dumb fringe moving with him. 

“Whoa.” The bald man says, eyes glittering in appreciation. “I like your spunk, kid! The name’s Tanaka Ryuunosuke, second year! I’m a wing spiker!” Tanaka introduces himself, jabbing a thumb proudly on his chest. Hinata nods, his past determined beast eyes settling down into an excited, starry look. 

He seemed to be the innocent dreamer boy all over again, and the three older males realized, with enthusiasm itching at their throats, that this boy could be their lucky break. Their eyes gaze at Kageyama as well, watching as he skillfully spikes the ball straight down the side of the court with just as much determination in his eyes. 

“Sugawara Koushi; third year. I’m the team’s setter.”

“Setter…” Kageyama grumbles, eyes honing in on Sugawara with a clean, precise motion. Sugawara shivers at the sudden intense glare on him, but he maintains the cheery smile on his face nonetheless. The older raven haired male shoots back daggers at the first year, and Kageyama instantly glances away to the volleyball in his hands.

“And I’m Sawamura Daichi; third year. I’m the Captain and a wing spiker.” His intimidating eyes flicker over the two freshman. He smiles “welcomingly” at them. “I hope we don’t have any trouble this year.” It seems like the trio saw Hinata and Kageyama’s brief fight. The captain casually picked up a volleyball, idling turning it in his hands. “But, if we do…” The threat is left unsaid as he suddenly launches the ball in Hinata’s direction. 

“Wha--”

“Daichi!” Sugawara and Tanaka yelp in alarm. They brace themselves from the inevitable shout of pain and the sound of the hard ball colliding with the short male. Even Kageyama watches with wide eyes, wondering if it really was a good idea to join Karasuno instead of Aoba Jousai. Instead of Hinata’s body slumping over onto the floor in pain and agony, he suddenly stretched his leg to the side. His body fluidly moved quickly to the side with his leg as he lowered his body to receive the volleyball. Hinata placed his clenched palms up towards the ceiling, both arms joined together at the palms. Quickly, the volleyball met his outstretched arms and bounced against them. 

“How?” Kageyama asked in barely concealed awe, wondering what the hell happened to the scrawny kid that cried as he declared vengeance against the setter. Power seemed to ripple in Hinata’s movements, and the small male exhaled lowly. He smiled in triumph at his successful receive (courtesy of Oikawa) and returned to his original position.

“Daichi!” Sugawara smacked his boyfriend’s (too soon whoops) shoulder harshly, a relieved look in his eyes. He still glared at Daichi though, because the jerk deserved it for throwing volleyballs at tiny freshman. That was like bullying or something.

“Man, Hinata! You’re on a roll!” Tanaka exclaimed, throwing an arm around the smaller’s shoulder. “I didn’t think you would have the reflexes for that!”

“Oh!” Hinata bashfully said, suddenly weak towards the attention drawn to him. He shuffled his feet against the ground timidly, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m not that great.”

“Yeah, you aren’t.” Kageyama muttered. He didn’t want to admit that even he had trouble with sudden attacks like that. His pride was at stake after all. Hinata glared at him, but otherwise stayed silent. Though he did stick out his tongue at the other like an immature child. Kageyama growled, “why you!” under his breath.

“Where’d you learn to receive like that?!” Tanaka asked, grinning savagely with his eyes closed at Hinata. The orange child shrugged.

“My boyfriend taught me.” Well, it was part of the truth. But he didn’t think telling his almost new members that his boyfriends were in Karasuno’s rival school was such a good idea. Not exactly a great first impression to be invited into any club. However, he was pleasantly surprised when no one batted an eye, not even Kageyama (more like Kagayama am I right). Usually, people either eyed him with something akin to disgust or chuckled awkwardly before leaving his side. Tanaka didn’t release his hold on him though, and Daichi and Sugawara were like cool parents. 

“That’s nice, Hinata.” Sugawara sincerely said, exchanging a bemused look with Daichi. The raven haired male casually threaded their fingers together while the other three pretended to not be in the same room as the flirting parents. “Daichi teaches me to receive sometimes and I toss him balls in return.” Tanaka snickered at the wording; Kageyama grew red up to his ears. Hinata just shrugged. He was used to vulgar language from his other boyfriends.

Daichi cleared his throat, but a tinge of pink stained his cheeks like betrayal. “Anyway, let me get you both club registration forms.” Hinata groaned. He didn’t want to fill out paperwork… He wanted to play volleyball right this instant, dammit! And judging by Kageyama’s sour, pinched face, Hinata wasn’t the only one feeling like shit. Sugawara smiled reassuringly to them though, pulling the captain’s jacket over his shoulders tighter around his body.

“Don’t worry, Hinata, Kageyama. It’s not hard. Just a few questions and then you’ll be admitted by tomorrow!” Hinata perked up at the thought of playing volleyball soon, but he also deflated from the prospect of waiting until tomorrow. Hearing Kageyama’s huff, he almost felt like he found a comrade. Almost.

“Here you go.” Daichi handed them the thin sheet of paper. Luckily, it was just the front page and there were only about ten questions. Hinata grinned, holding the paper to his chest. He bounced up and down like a baby crow, spinning around in circles. The older guys chuckled at the cute display, Sugawara even going as far to snap pictures of the baby crow. Kageyama held in his grin as his eyes traced over the questions. 

“Thank you!” Hinata yelped, bowing down to his older teammates. Daichi and Sugawara waved him off as Tanaka puffed out his chest, laughing maniacally. 

“What do you say, Kageyama?” Hinata glared at the other, trying to force the other to show his respect to their elders. Kageyama glared back but reluctantly obliged. 

“T-Tanks…” Tanaka laughed boisterously, Hinata joining in.

“It’s “thanks”, Kageyama!” Hinata laughed until Kageyama gripped him by the collar of his shirt and threw him across the room. Unfazed, Hinata landed perfectly on his feet in a squat, a wry smile on his face. “You’re not so scary, Bakageyama.” 

“Don’t call me that!”

“Fight, fight, fight!” Tanaka urged, shaking his fists up and down. Daichi sighed while Sugawara laughed openly.

“Tanaka, no.” 

“Every party needs a pooper and that pooper is you. Party pooper… Party pooper…” Tanaka sang, an enraged Daichi growing more and more agitated. Hinata and Kageyama weren’t helping either, both exchanging witty banter back and forth. Sensing their possible demise, Sugawara placed a soothing hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder as an attempt to calm him down. Too bad it was too late. Daichi was too riled up to give half a shit at this point.

“SHUT UP!” Tanaka’s flapping gums instantly clacked shut. Hinata and Kageyama froze in their steps as they warily eyed the furious captain. “If you don’t stop fighting this instant, I’ll prohibit you from joining the club!” 

“Wait, uh, quick question.” Hinata nervously wet his lips as the livid captain’s attention turned to him. “What does prohibit mean?” Tanaka made frantic cutting noises while he sliced near his neck with his hand. 

“It means he won’t allow you to join the club, Hinata.” Sugawara patiently explained. Hinata nodded slowly at the definition and then the words settled in.

“WAIT WHAT?” Hinata yelped loudly, causing Kageyama to actually take one for the team and clamp his hand over Hinata’s mouth. The orange head glared at his rival turned teammate. He didn’t appreciate the taste of sweat and unclean volleyballs thank you very much.

“Hinata, idiot!” Kageyama hissed in his ear. Hinata paled when he realized his mistake. The captain smiled eerily at the two of them with his eyes closed.

“How about I make a bet? If you two don’t show you can get along with each other, I will forbid you from joining the volleyball club.”

“Deal.” Kageyama instantly said. 

“Wait, Kageyama! That sounds sketchy!” Hinata madly whispered.

“Oh, shit.”

“He means, uh, what happens if we do show that we get along with each other?” Daichi’s eyes opened with a sinister gleam. The two freshman gulped, fearing for their lives in volleyball for the first time in their young lives. 

“You will get to join the volleyball team.” 

“Wait, that’s it?” Hinata blurted out. He was rewarded with a punch on the head. He whimpered in pain and pouted angrily at the other. “Meanie! How are we going to show Captain that we can get along if you keep abusing me?” Kageyama seemed to startle at the sudden realization. Hinata rolled his eyes, rubbing his throbbing head.

“Yes.” Daichi crossed his arms. “I could just forbid you from joining the team…”

“Wait!” Kageyama and Hinata exclaimed at the same time. “We’ll do it!” 

“Daichi…” Sugawara worriedly said. He didn’t know what his crafty boyfriend was plotting, but by the sounds of it, the plan was utterly conniving. Tanaka shared the same sentiment but he didn’t voice a complaint. He didn’t want to be on the receiving end of angry Daichi after all.

“Excellent.” Daichi’s smile grew. “I knew you would.” Hinata and Kageyama faltered at the creepy smile. They both gulped simultaneously. 

“How long do we have to “get along”?” Kageyama questioned, shuddering at the thought of hanging out with the short orange pancake stack. Hinata, as if he was a mind reader, narrowed his eyes at the raven haired male.

“Until the end of the week.”

“Eh?!” 

“Any complaints?”

“None. Sir.” 

“Perfect!” Daichi’s smile turned down. “Now leave.” Hinata and Kageyama glanced at each other with bewildered eyes, but followed their future captain’s orders anyway. Once they left with rejection in their hearts and blank registration in their hands, the door shut quickly behind them. Hinata pouted. This was completely unfair! How would he be able to play against his boyfriends if he wasn’t even allowed on the team yet?! He had to practice and train as much as possible before he played against Aoba Jousai and the other rival teams! Yet, here he was, stuck with a mean looking setter who bugged the hell out of Hinata.

“I don’t like you.” Hinata said.

“The feeling’s mutual.” Kageyama snapped back. The shorter male exhaled shakily.

“But…” His eyes on the ground raced up to meet Kageyama’s silver blue ones. “We have to work together if we want to get on the volleyball team!” The raven haired male seemed genuinely surprised at the remark before a sly grin wove onto his face. Hinata mirrored the look.

“Alright. Truce until next week?” Kageyama held out his hand. Hinata nodded.

“Truce.” He agreed, shaking the larger hand in his own as they swung it up and down. When they released their hands, Hinata kicked at the dirt. “Sooo…” He started. “Want to practice volleyball with me?”

  
  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  
  


And thus, an unlikely relationship began between the two oddballs. They never really got along with each other unless it came to volleyball. They were both proud proclaimed volleyball idiots and didn’t hesitate to practice the sport with each other whenever they could. Ever since they were kicked out of the gym, Daichi forbade them from entering since the gym was only for volleyball team members. So, Hinata and Kageyama found themselves practicing their receives and serves in an empty park after school. Kageyama would toss the ball and Hinata would hit the ball back. They would both receive the volleyball until one of them missed and the momentum would collapse. When one of them did miss the volleyball, they would have to pay for the other’s food after they were done practicing. 

It was on a particular day that Hinata was super distracted. A day ago, his lovely boyfriend, Oikawa, arrived at his doorstep with flowers in one hand and a box of chocolates in the other. After serenading Hinata’s mother, Oikawa smiled broadly at his boyfriend and announced that it was their anniversary (only Oikawa and Hinata’s anyway). The orange head felt elated, but also extremely guilty at forgetting such an important date, but his gracious boyfriend waved it off. They both sat in Hinata’s room, hands entwined as they updated their daily lives with the other. It was peaceful and joyful and everything to Hinata. 

_ “Happy Anniversary, Shou-chan!” Oikawa nuzzled Hinata’s hair with his nose, eliciting a high giggle from his significant other. Hinata beamed up at his boyfriend, love filling his eyes and ears and nose that just screamed, “Oikawa Tooru”.  _

_ “Happy Anniversary, Shittykawa.” He playfully said. Oikawa whined, though amusement danced in his chestnut eyes. He knelt closer, warm breath fanning over Hinata’s face.  _

_ “Don’t be mean to your lover, Shouyou.” Hinata shuddered at the husky tone of his lover’s and the way his name was cradled on the brunette’s tongue. Before long, Hinata’s eyes were half mast as well as he stared straight up into the galaxy of Oikawa’s sparkling orbs. _

_ “Make me.” He retorted, relishing in the way Oikawa’s pupil dilated before a wicked gleam appeared in his eyes. He felt himself being pushed back into the pillows and next thing he knew, his body was covered in his annoying idiot boyfriend (according to Iwaizumi anyway). He giggled breathlessly as his boyfriend began pressing insistent kisses all over his face and peppering down to his neck. The giggles disappeared and next thing he knew, his whole body felt hot and Hinata’s body tingled with fire whenever Oikawa’s fingertips brushed on his skin.  _

_ “Gladly.” Oikawa responded to Hinata’s witty remark, and before Hinata could form a rebuttal, long fingers were tickling his sides. The orange haired male’s eyes nearly popped out of his sockets at the sudden attack on his ticklish sides. Huge laughter spilled out of his lips before he could stop them, and he tried desperately to escape his boyfriend’s octopus like grip. Oikawa grinned triumphantly down at him with fond eyes.  _

_ “I give, I give!”  _

_ “That’ll teach you to be mean to me, Grand King Oikawa!” Hinata snorted, prying the calloused hands off of his body. He pressed little kisses on each fingertip, relishing in the way Oikawa reddened like a virgin.  _

_ “Yes, yes, Grand King.” Hinata’s eyes sparkled with mirth. Red and breathless, he was the most beautiful sight Oikawa had ever seen (well that and Iwaizumi).  _

_ “I love you, Shouyou.” A lovesick sigh. _

_ “I love you too, Tooru.” _

“-nata! Hinata!” The orange haired male snapped out of his reverie and was met with a volleyball straight in the face. He groaned, clutching at his sore nose as he slumped down to the ground. Kageyama yelled angrily at him, berating him for not paying attention, but Hinata ignored him. It wasn’t like he was purposefully trying to piss Kageyama off. It was just way too easy to.

“Pfft.” Hinata stilled at the new voice and he looked up, still pathetically holding his nose. In front of him, two very tall strangers stood on the sidewalk, the street light illuminating over their mysterious forms. They were both clad in black tracksuits, the blond male with glasses smirking infuriatingly at Kageyama and Hinata. To his left, a barely shorter male with long dark brown hair and freckles dotting his face snickered. Kageyama’s glare intensified.

“What?” The setter demanded, a cold look glazing over his face. Hinata remained silent, staring at the two with calculated looks. 

“I’m just watching two bumbling idiots try to play volleyball.” The taller one states evenly, his nasty smirk prominent on his face. “It was funny.” His companion was still snickering, and Hinata narrowed his eyes at the intruders. The blond’s eyes flicked to him. 

“Especially the chibi.” Hinata didn’t say anything. He just kept glaring at the two. His throbbing nose was long forgotten as the cold wind chilled his bones. The blond jerk’s attention snapped back to Kageyama, a look of recognition flickering in his eyes as a sneer replaced his smirk.

“And here we have this mess.” 

“Shut up.” Kageyama growled. The taller male placed his hands up in mock surrender. 

“Whatever, King.” 

“Don’t call me that.” 

“What? King? But, that’s what you are. As a lowly commoner, I should call you by your name, right, King of the Court?” Kageyama snarled.

“I said, don’t call me that!” The blond rolled his eyes.

“Scary. The King is getting mad.” 

“Tsukki.” This time, his friend was no longer snickering. His droopy eyes stared at Hinata, a raw forest fire about to swallow them up. But, the glasses clad man still continued. 

“I’m surprised you even have friends, King. After being abandoned by your own teammates, I thought you would have learned by now.” 

“Tsukki.” The other pressed. “Tsukki” grunted.

“Not now, Yamaguchi.” 

“But, Tsukki--” This “Tsukki” immediately shut the other up with a glare. Yamaguchi didn’t say a word after that, but his eyes were glued on the phoenix colored boy. 

“One day, chibi will leave you too, King. How does that make you feel?” 

“It makes me feel  _ mad.”  _ Hinata spoke up ominously, bangs covering half of his face and mingling with the shadows. The blond sighed.

“I wasn’t asking you, chi--” When he glanced down however, he noticed how close the other was. It took all of his willpower to not jump out of his skin from the close proximity of the short male. He wasn’t supposed to feel scared, not from a pile of scrawny bones. Yet, a chill ran down his spine. With wide eyes, he stared back at the other’s face as Hinata finally looked up, an animalistic gleam in his eye. Kageyama remained silent.

“Don’t call him that.” Hinata’s voice was but a mere whisper being carried by the wind. The stranger heard anyway and he snorted.

“And what are you going to do about it?” He said despite the rising feeling of danger creeping up on him. Hinata’s eyes flashed. He actually flinched this time. 

“Don’t call him that.” Hinata’s words were more clear this time with a hint of anger. “He doesn’t like being called that.” The blond held his tongue this time. Even though Hinata was almost two feet shorter than him, the tallest male still felt a twinge of fear race through his pumping heart. 

“Hinata.” Kageyama softly called out. His usual glare was on his face, but it was a lot softer, like he was actually glad that someone stood up for him. Hinata turned to him, dangerous eyes surveying Kageyama’s body like he didn’t believe him. When he became satisfied with what he saw, Hinata stepped back from the strangers, peace calming down the flames licking at his heart. Even with the barely functional streetlight, the strangers could still make out the fire in Hinata’s hair and the spite in his golden orbs. Hinata Shouyou is not to be messed with. 

“Let’s go Yamaguchi.” The glasses wearing male stated, broken out of the trance. “I’ll see you losers later.” He addressed them, the smirk back on his face. Yamaguchi eyed Kageyama and Hinata nervously but obeyed his friend otherwise.

“Hinata.” Kageyama spoke loudly. They exchanged nods. “Hey, giant ass pole.” The blond stopped in his tracks. He turned his head with an annoyed frown. 

“What do you want, King?” Kageyama’s usual murderous face morphed into a large smirk that rivalled the other’s. 

“Catch.” And with absolute accuracy, the raven haired male tossed the volleyball as hard as he could towards the giant. Yamaguchi yelped in alarm, realizing the ball would hit Tsukishima right in the face. The brunette tensed, hoping that the blond’s glasses wouldn’t break. But, the clearing was silent. 

Like a phoenix rising up from its ashes, Hinata chased the ball before leaping up high in the air. His large leap towered above Tsukishima’s height and the blond could only stare in awe at the beast’s athletic ability. Hinata plucked the ball right out of the air before it could hit the taller male right in the eye. He gracefully landed back on the ground, the wind howling with his actions and supporting his supposedly fragile body. Yamaguchi could only gape. Tsukishima was mildly impressed.

“Don’t underestimate me just because I’m short.” Hinata pointed to Tsukishima. “Being tall isn’t everything.” And with those words, he spun around and waltzed back over to Kageyama. They packed up their things and melted in the shadows. In the blink of an eye, the duo was gone, leaving the two strangers in stunned silence.

  
  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  
  


“And this is Tsukishima Kei and Yamaguchi Tadashi.” Daichi announced, gesturing to the two new members that also so happened to face off with Kageyama and Hinata. Hinata greeted them normally, with wild exaggerated hand motions and loud sound effects. Kageyama still slapped him around a bit, but hey, at least they weren’t killing each other. Some could say they even have a decent friendship. Just decent though.

“I didn’t think the king and the chibi would be here.” Tsukishima taunted, crossing his arms. His eyes switched to Kageyama. “Shouldn’t you be in Shiratorizawa?” Kageyama’s eyes narrowed to slits, a growl on his lips. Hinata cocked his head to one side.

“Isn’t that the super talented volleyball school?” Tsukishima snorted at his simplistic response and shook his head in mock sadness.

“You’re right, chibi. And the king has enough talent to be able to go into that school. But,” a sly smile invaded his face, “he was denied.” Kageyama grit his teeth. He balled his hands into fists and turned his head away, whether from shame or anger, no one knew. Hinata stared at Kageyama with curiosity. 

“So?” Tsukishima backtracked.

“What do you mean, “so”?” 

“I mean, so what? Who cares if Kageyama didn’t get into a fancy schmancy school? He’s with us now.” Sugawara sighed in relief and pride, beaming at Hinata’s positive remarks. They would live to see another day. 

“Look, kid. Do you know why Kageyama is called the “King of the Court”?” Hinata shrugged.

“I just thought it meant he was really good.” Tsukishima snorted and rolled his eyes.

“He is really good. But he’s even better at being a tyrant king.” 

“Tsukishima…” Daichi warned.

“Did you know? His teammates abandoned him. He kept pushing them to try harder and harder until they got fed up with him. At his last game, he tossed to one of his team members but no one was there. They gave up on him and he was benched.” Tsukishima eyed Kageyama the whole time. “Pretty pathetic if you ask me.”

“Tsukishima.” Daichi ground out. Tanaka had to be held back by Ennoshita so that he didn’t beat the cocky first year into a bloody pulp. Hinata blinked. 

“Okay, but that’s in the past.” Tsukishima owlishly blinked. “Instead of focusing on the past, we should be trying to look toward the future. That’s what my boyfriend always tells me.” Hinata turned his attention over to Kageyama. “I didn’t like you at first. You’re mean, you call me names, your smile is creepy, and you have a creepy obsession towards milk.” Kageyama flushed.

“Hinata, I’ll kill you, you idiot!” Tsukishima snickered at the new information given.

“No, let him go on. I want to know what other deep dark secrets you have.” The blond laughed, followed by his literal follower, Yamaguchi.

“But, you’re better now.” Both parties paused. “You’re not as mean as I thought and you toss to me a bunch. You’re even sometimes nice to me.” Hinata scratched his head before crossing his arms with a nod. “Even if you’re a milk pissbaby.”

“I am not--”

“Oh my god.” Tsukishima snorted out laughter, draping himself over Yamaguchi’s form as he continued to laugh. Even Tanaka began guffawing loudly, joined by Narita, Ennoshita, and Kinnoshita. Daichi shook his head with a small smile and his boyfriend giggled behind long fingers.

“Anyway! That’s why you’ve got to stop being so mean to Kageyama, Tsukishima! We’re on the same team now!” Hinata finished his speech with a wide, starry eyed look as he jumped up in the air. Silence. Tanaka began clapping his hands first, a tear following out of his eye.

“That was so awkward. Beautiful, but awkward.” Hinata shyly rubbed the back of his neck while he laughed nervously.

“Yeah, thanks Tanaka-senpai.” And down went the bald man. Rip. 

“I hate the types like him the most…” Daichi heard Tsukishima mutter to himself. “They irritate me…” 

“So, stop being such a jerk Tsukishima!” The blond glared.

“No.” 

“Why you--” 

“How about I suggest something that will solve all of our problems?” Sugawara offered. Daichi paled. If his plans were conniving, then his boyfriend’s were downright destructive. The last plan involved most of their friends being scarred for life and Sugawara smiling in hell, saying, “this is fine”. 

“Suga, no.” Sugawara ignored the captain. 

“Why don’t you first years play a match?” Hinata’s eyes sparkled at the prospect of a game. 

“Yeah! I want to play volleyball!” 

“Hinata.” Daichi really didn’t want anyone encouraging his sneaky boyfriend to go on with his plans. Hinata pouted and Kageyama looked slightly disappointed. They would thank him later. 

“If Tsukishima and Yamaguchi win, Tsukishima doesn’t have to get along with Hinata and Kageyama and they both automatically get accepted into the club.” Tsukishima smirked.

“I’m listening.” 

“And if Kageyama and Hinata win, Tsukishima must stop calling Kageyama “king” and respect both Hinata and Kageyama. You guys will also be automatically accepted into the club.” Hinata grinned.

“Yeah! Let’s do it!” Kageyama nodded.

“I’ll do it.” 

“Tsukki?” 

“Alright.” A large grin appeared on the angel’s face. Suddenly, the four first years felt like they just signed contracts with a demon.

“Then, let the game commence.” 


	2. Literally a Filler Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just the Karasuno match between Tsukkiyama + Daichi and Kagehina + Tanaka. Just a filler chapter that can be ignored.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gonna update once a day until Sunday. That's when I stopped writing (whoops)
> 
> still unbeta'd, unoriginal shit going on (just this chapter and a little bit in the next one), and possible ooc characters (
> 
> i promise my own version of hq will steer after chapter 4.... this is all just fillers and shit lol like u dont have to read this chapter at all
> 
> yay for more badass hinata aah

 

 

By the end of the week, Hinata couldn’t help but bounce up and down in anticipation towards the upcoming volleyball match against his new enemy, Tsukishima Kei. Kageyama would yell at him to stop jumping up and down anxiously and then begin throttling him, but Hinata knew better. He knew that Kageyama secretly wished for the week to fly by for their match. Daichi still hadn’t decided whether or not they were allowed to join the club, so the two were still pretending to be as friendly as they could possibly be (though it was starting to become more and more like real life). 

At the end of the day, Hinata was red to his ears. He had apparently been so excited that even his teacher noticed him, and she called him out with teasing words about how he should just go to the bathroom. A few of the girls giggled as they watched him bolt upright, grab his belongings, and flew right out of the classroom, a bemused teacher shaking her head at his antics. He met up with Kageyama along the way and they raced to the gym, as per usual, panting with bright eyes. No one was in the gym other than Tanaka. He grinned when they approached him.

“Ready for the match, first years?!” He exclaimed. Kageyama bobbed his head up and down while Hinata bounced on the balls of his feet.

“This is my first actual team! I’m so excited to play!” He babbled. “Even with Bakageyama and his mean face.” Kageyama shot a dirty look at him, but the orange haired male continued with no filter. “And I still don’t trust Tsukishima because he’s a bigger meanie than Kageyama. Oh! But I’ve been talking with Yamaguchi and he’s actually really nice! I wonder how he gets along with Tsukishima?” 

“That’s none of your business, chibi.” Speak of the devil. Hinata snapped around at the irritating nickname, a growl on his lips. He still edged towards Tanaka though, because light reflected off of Tsukishima’s glasses and he looked as sinister and smug as ever. Hinata resisted the urge to pummel the blond’s face in with a volleyball. Kageyama glared. 

“You ready to be defeated, Tsukishima?” Hinata asked, crossing his arms like a cool guy. Tsukishima snorted as the smaller male’s attempt at intimidating him. He would never admit it, but Hinata intrigued him and possibly scared him the day they first met and the sunny male flew up in the air. It was breathtaking and utterly surprising, but Tsukishima was too damn prideful. 

“I don’t need to be ready to defeat you, munchkin.” He rolled his eyes and walked away, wishing the image of a burning phoenix would vanish from his mind. He had enough things to worry about anyway. Yamaguchi followed him, a fond look on his face at both Tsukishima and Hinata. They were both polar opposites, yet held the same adoration towards volleyball. The brunette softly chuckled under his breath. 

“Captain!” Hinata yelped, waving frantically at Daichi as he appeared with his boyfriend. They both were holding hands and Daichi smiled awkwardly, returning the wave and being utterly astonished at the bright grin produced from his action. Sugawara giggled behind his unoccupied hand. Lovingly, the silver haired male planted a kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek before unwinding their fingers. He left behind a red faced Daichi who feebly coughed in an attempt to be cooler than he actually was.

“Hello, Hinata. How are you?” Sugawara asked, slipping out of his boyfriend’s bigger jacket and setting it gently on top of the bench Hinata was on. The orange haired male grinned. 

“I’m good, Sugawara! This is my first time playing on an actual volleyball team, so I’m excited!” Sugawara blinked.

“What do you mean, first time?” He backtracked. “I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.” Hinata shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it! I didn’t have a volleyball team in middle school so I had to make my own.” He scratched his cheek awkwardly. “No one really cared about volleyball though, so I forced my friends to play with me. My first real match was against Kageyama! And I lost, but I was still able to score a few points against him!” 

“That’s amazing.” Sugawara stated sincerely. The silver haired male actually went to the match between the two younger first years, and he remembered how breathless he became when noticing how high Hinata soared. Kageyama still held the same sour scowl, but his frown seemed to sweeten up with Hinata’s sunshine vibes. Sugawara pat the little crow’s head as he sat down next to him. 

“I’m glad you love volleyball so much. It’s nice to know we’ll be able to advance further.” Hinata cocked his head to one side, confusion written all over his face, but Sugawara didn’t elaborate.

“Good luck, Hinata.” The older male smiled, his eye mole moving with his stretched cheeks. Hinata brightened. With determination in his eyes, he jumped up and spun around to bow at his senpai at a clumsy 90 degree angle. 

“Thank you very much!” And with that, he jogged off to warm up with Kageyama. 

They bickered as soon as they met up with each other, but there was an easy atmosphere around them, even as Kageyama held Hinata in a choke hold and the other gurgled between his laughter. Daichi yelled at them to stop and Tsukishima grumbled about them while Yamaguchi helped him stretch. At one point, a beautiful black haired girl walked in, excusing herself politely and quietly as Tanaka fawned over her. Even Hinata, as straight as his curly hair, reddened considerably and stumbled around her as she greeted the new members with a soft voice. 

And finally, at last, the net was set up and Kinnoshita, Ennoshita, and Narita stood by the points for each team, an interested gleam in their eyes. They missed volleyball practice the day Sugawara placed the bet between the first years, but Tanaka was all too glad to fill them in on what happened. They were especially interested in the tiny, wild child with sunset curls, who held an innocent aura around him but also surveyed the area with serious chocolate orbs. 

“Hey, do you think we’ll still be accepted if we lose?”

“Idiot. There’s no use thinking like that. All we have to do is win.” A beat of silence as they exchanged determined looks.

“Yeah. Let’s just give it our all, Kageyama!” Hinata proclaimed loudly, eyes honing in on Tsukishima’s long form as he quietly talked to Yamaguchi. Daichi jogged back into the gym, Tanaka following him. They were both clad in matching white Karasuno shirts and basketball shorts. 

“Tanaka and I will be playing with you first years. The rules are the same. The first team to win two sets wins the game. Any questions?” 

“Whose team are you gonna be on, captain?” 

“I’m on Tsukishima’s. Tanaka’s on your team.” 

“Wait, is that even fair? You’re the captain.” Daichi smiled.

“Don’t worry. Tanaka is a better wing spiker than I am.” He ominously responded, walking away to his team to discuss tactics. Tanaka ambled up to the fighting duo, a wicked grin on his face. Before he could say anything though, Tsukishima interrupted him.

“How do you think we should annihilate--I mean _beat_ the other team?” He loudly questioned.  
“You have some serious character issues, Tsukishima.” Daichi shook his head.

“I wonder who will fall first? The chibi? Or maybe the king?” Kageyama’s glare intensified as he eyed the taller male with growing fire. Tanaka was openly pissed and he turned to his younger future teammates, a faux smile on his face. With a light voice, he closed his eyes sweetly.

“Oh, that Tsukishima! He’s just talking like he knows everything... It makes me want to…” Tanaka opened his eyes eerily and glared at Tsukishima. “ _ Annihilate _ them.” Hinata stuck out his tongue at their rivals with his eyes closed while Kageyama regarded the both of them with shocked eyes.

And thus, the match began. Kageyama served the ball first, a quick ball that Hinata thought for sure would easily land them a point. However, the captain slid gracefully into a crouched position and received the ball with little difficulty, setting the ball to Tsukishima who just as easily spiked the ball onto solid ground. Hinata stared, wide eyed. Daichi chuckled at the first years’ impressed expressions.

“If Tanaka’s a good wing spiker, than I’m a better receiver.” He said with ease, eliciting a clenched fist from Tanaka as he marveled over his gay dad’s “coolness”, and wide eyed exclamations from Hinata and Kageyama. They both suddenly realized just how serious this game was. If they didn’t win, it would not only be a blow to their pride, but would show how uncoordinated they were. Kageyama and Hinata had to win. 

Another ball went up, this time by Tanaka as he served the ball across the net. It soared before being received by Tsukishima this time, who bounced the ball back to Yamaguchi. The brunette barely made the ball past the net, and he smiled sheepishly at his friend, who rolled his eyes. As the volleyball arrived back on Hinata’s side, Kageyama received the ball and set it towards Tanaka, who blew away the blockers, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, with brute force. Hinata’s eyes gleamed with respect. 

“How do you like that, Team Tsukki?!” Tanaka yelped, stripping himself of his jacket and revealing his half naked torso to the world. 

“Team  _ Tsukki?”  _ Tsukishima mumbled to himself at the same time that Sugawara and Kinnoshita called out to Tanaka:

“Put your shirt back on, you fool!”

“Baldie, that’s indecent exposure!” Tanaka ignored his teammates as he sent goo goo eyes to the beautiful manager. She ignored him though, her eyes reading the clipboard she was holding. 

“It’s just one point at the start of the game.” Tsukishima muttered, loud enough for his team members to hear. Daichi laughed softly. 

“This is Tanaka we’re talking about. And…” He gazed at Kageyama and Hinata, who were hyped up over their older teammate’s ace like spike. Hinata kept hollering, “teach me, teach me,” to a goading Tanaka as Kageyama eyed the bald man with newfound respect. “It’s good to be hyped up once in awhile.” Daichi finished, his eyes softening as they met with golden ones. 

“Whatever.” Tsukishima walked back over to his middle blocker stance, a silent Yamaguchi trailing after him. The captain shook his head. He really hoped they would change their attitude as the year rolled on.

Hinata served the next ball; however, he didn’t serve with enough strength or with enough height, so the ball landed onto the net. Ennoshita, who was keeping track of the points, blew his whistle and threw his arm over on Tsukishima’s side, a snickering Tsukishima being glared at (read: pouted at) by Hinata as Kageyama yelled at him. Tanaka separated them before Daichi could kill them all, luckily enough.

“It’s alright, Hinata! Everyone makes mistakes like that!” Tanaka sympathetically said, nodding his head wisely as Hinata glanced up at him, as if saying “really?”. 

“Ok.” A small smile. “Thanks, Tanaka-senpai.” And down went Tanaka once more. Daichi laughed. The game continued on.

Yamaguchi served this time, though a bit clumsily, as the ball went over the net. Kageyama received the ball, and he set it towards Tanaka. The ball was a bit too high, and irritation stained his face as Tanaka barely intercepted the set before spiking it back to the other side. Luckily, they still made the point. 

Tsukishima seemed to notice the setter’s growing irritation as yet again, the raven haired male set too low and Tanaka fumbled to save the ball. He shook his head at the other, knowing full well that the King would come out soon, just like how he saw it at the last game Kageyama’s school won before falling to pieces. 

Meanwhile, Hinata excitedly ran back and forth across the court, waiting impatiently for the right moment to spike the ball. He exchanged a wild glance with Kageyama and nodded slightly, running towards an empty space to finally be able to feel the ball.

_ Me too,  _ he thought excitedly.  _ I want to spike the ball, feel the sting on my palm!  _ And with a thumping heart, he watched the volleyball soar over to his area. He crouched down before springing up to a high jump, the others gasping behind him at the height in which he flew. Hinata was absolutely breathtaking in that moment.

Unfortunately, the moment passed quickly as just as Hinata’s hand contacted with the ball with strong force, he was shot down by Tsukishima, who barely had to jump that high in order to reach Hinata’s current flying state. The blond watched the orange head with impassive eyes, scanning Hinata’s face that was full of shock and something much darker. 

“That’s too bad, shrimpy. If you had been 30 centimeters taller, you could have been a star.” Tsukishima said mildly before walking away from Hinata’s despair. The shorter male clenched his fists. It was just like middle school all over again were he kept being blocked and blocked and blocked. He was never able to rise above the summit to see the glorious moment where the ball landed on the ground. He was never able to succeed.

“Hinata, don’t mind!” Tanaka patted his back harshly, almost desperately, for the smaller one just looked so distraught and upset with his failure. Kageyama grit his teeth, his mind hardening as he realized they didn’t have a chance to win. 

“I’m okay, Tanaka-senpai.” Hinata muttered. He slapped his hands against his cheek roughly, the loud sound causing people to jump and stare at him in question. His determined brown eyes set on Tsukishima, a small grin growing to a large one. Tsukishima shuddered.

“Let’s win.” He walked away from the spot that he failed at and decided at that moment that he would give it all he got. And that no matter the outcome, he would be proud of himself for trying as much as he could.

Daichi served the next ball, Hinata receiving it perfectly before launching his lithe body to an empty spot once more. Tsukishima followed, but Hinata knew better. He signalled with a tilt of his head to Kageyama, indicating to toss the ball to Tanaka. Kageyama caught on quickly and set it to the bald headed male, Tanaka flawlessly taking another point for their team. The raven haired male’s eyebrows furrowed.

The points were barely budging, but Tsukishima’s team executed a tough defense (courtesy of the tall players and the captain’s nearly flawless receives) and was currently in the lead by a few more points. At this point, Kageyama’s dark scowl settled permanently on his face and his tosses were becoming more desperate. Small mistakes were becoming larger, and they were mainly Kageyama’s fault. He was slowly sinking back into his dictatorship he once held over his last team, and the raven haired male was completely unaware of it. 

Tsukishima knew though. He knew more than he would like, and he was just waiting until the team crumbled beneath the king’s feet. 

“Hinata, you dumbass! You should have jumped lower!”

“What?!” 

“It was the right moment for you to spike, idiot!”

“Oh, and how would  _ you _ know?!” Hinata snapped back. Tensions were high as they faced off, a snarl on both of their lips. Tanaka ran back to them and separated them before they could begin to fight each other physically, though the constant strain of losing was beginning to wear him down as well.

“Guys! Stop it or Daichi will have our heads! Literally!” Tanaka hissed at his younger teammates. 

“Looks like the king’s about to lose. We don’t particularly care about winning or losing either way, so if it’ll be troublesome for you guys to lose… how about we throw the game for you?” Tsukishima called over, a huge smirk on his face. Satisfaction lit up his golden orbs, and Hinata and Kageyama frowned deeper at the sight. 

The blond continued, “There’s only one way to win, I suppose.” He paused, his shit eating grin widening. “You should do the king’s toss.” 

“What?” Hinata asked, glancing at Kageyama whose face became progressively darker. “What’s that?” The orange haired boy questioned Tsukishima, since Kageyama didn’t seem to be responding anytime soon.

“Oh, you don’t know?” Tsukishima shook his head “sadly”. “It’s the toss that the king used that drove all of his teammates away. He thinks he knows everything, and in the end, everyone left him.” Tsukishima’s eyes were on Kageyama’s bristling form the whole time he spoke. “What a shame. He never changes.”

“Well, he could.” Silence reigned over the gym. Tanaka and Daichi, who were pissed off at Tsukishima’s blunt, cutting words, stared at Hinata like he just grew two heads. Hinata didn’t seem fazed at the stares he received and he shook his head innocently.

“He doesn’t toss like that now. And I can receive them just fine. That’s all that matters to me.” He simply said before grinning hugely at Kageyama. Said male froze. “I didn’t have a setter before at my old school, so I’m glad you toss to me now!” He continued with a hard gleam shining in his bright eyes.

“My only problem is with you, Tsukishima!” Tanaka and Daichi snorted at his blunt statement, a snicker bubbling from their throats at how honest their younger member was. “But after I defeat you, then Kageyama and I will be official members and you can’t say or do anything about it!”

“You--” Kageyama stuttered. Tsukishima’s smirk instantly morphed into a displeased frown.

“How pure and straightforward… How  _ disgusting _ .” The blond snarled underneath his breath. “You can’t make up your height by psyching yourself up. There’s nothing but talent that will win in this world.” Yamaguchi furrowed his brows, but otherwise said nothing to rebuke that statement. 

Tsukishima was followed by Daichi’s eyes as he walked back to a better position to block the next few sets. His tall height enabled him to easily block the incoming spikes from the other team, but his lazy attitude erased his potential as a volleyball player. Daichi shook his head, crouching in the back as he watched Hinata serve this time, a concentrated gleam glowing almost ethereally with beast like orbs.

The ball soared across the net and Daichi spun on his heel in the right direction. His hand saved the ball, casting it high in the air for Yamaguchi to set and Tsukishima to spike. Yet another point was awarded to them, and the second year trio by the point markers sighed.

“At this rate, Tanaka’s team is going to lose for sure.” Kinnoshita said with his arms crossed. Ennoshita and Narita nodded along with his statement. They saw no hope for the other team, though interest still lingered in their reluctant eyes. 

Sugawara didn’t comment. He could already see the strain Hinata’s team endured from all of their sudden losses. Kageyama’s snarl became more prominent while Hinata stared blankly at the floor. Tanaka grit his teeth all the while, his shark like gaze switching between the two first years in slight worry. The silver haired male’s eyes scanned to the other side. 

“Kageyama, nice serve!” Hinata called out between cupped hands. Kageyama’s face was dark as a midnight sky with hovering black clouds as he performed an excellent jump serve. However, Daichi managed to get the ball back in the air and the other team executed a perfect play as Tsukishima tossed to Yamaguchi and Hinata was unable to cleanly receive it. 

“Dammit!” Hinata growled. Tanaka pat him on the back reassuringly, but his face remained in a conflicted state. They would not be able to win at this rate. Although Tanaka continued to rack up the points and barely trailed after Tsukishima’s lead, they were still far behind the other team in terms of coordination and actual skill. If Hinata could not overcome this obstacle in his impressive battle in the air against Tsukishima, their team would not stand a chance for the next set either.

Kageyama’s frown deepened. He remembered his nightmare of how much of a dictator his old self was. He pushed and pushed his teammates to become better because of his belief that winning was the only thing that mattered. And he would stop at nothing to win. The raven haired male sighed deeply, trying in vain to forget the haunting voices of his teammates snubbing him and turning their backs to his crown clad self with a draping velvet cape over his proud shoulders. Instead, he watched the orange and green hues of the volleyball fly cleanly across the air and back onto his side.

“Kageyama!” Tanaka and Hinata shouted in synchronization. Kageyama remained calm, but his heart thumped painfully against his chest. 

“Tanaka-san!” He yelped at the same time Hinata screamed his name. He knew setting to Tanaka would boost up their moral as well as earn them a point. However, the straight laced, confident tone in Hinata’s voice stopped him from positioning himself to set to the bald headed man. He glanced behind, arms raised as Hinata’s brilliant form radiated sunshine, a contrast to his gloomy middle school days in which his teammates abandoned him (or was it he that abandoned them?). In the same stance, he found himself drowning in the flames of Hinata’s form that flew up in the air on translucent crow wings.

_ There was…. No one behind me.  _ His mind whispered. And as if Hinata could read his mind, he eyed Kageyama with utter determination as if saying, “I’m here. I’m behind you.” Instinctively, Kageyama leaned his body slightly backwards and tossed the ball in Hinata’s direction. The orange haired male spiked it softly, causing his attack to be a net ball and for Daichi to barely miss it. Hinata gulped heavily, eyes wide.

“Oh god, that was a close one. I barely got it.” 

“What the hell was that?”

“That was an out though…” Hinata squeezed his eyes shut. “But you still tossed to me!” His whole body shook with flames engulfing his form as he shouted. 

“Forget about middle school; forget about that jerk, Tsukishima. I’ll gratefully take any toss you give to me. I’ll jump anywhere. I’ll hit anything, anytime. So…” He gripped on his white shirt with a clenched hand. “Toss to me, setter!” Kageyama’s eyes were wide and the biggest blue ocean that Hinata could feel himself being swept up in.

“Holy shit, guys! You know how to do quicks?!” Tanaka was in awe. Hinata cocked his head to one side before shaking his head. 

“Quicks?”

“Yeah, like a fast attack that you guys just did.”

“Um, not really? I only know how to spike balls that go up high like boom! And gyaah!” Kageyama stared at his partner blankly. Tanaka ignored the sound effects as he shook his head in disbelief.

“But you guys just did one! And I saw your game in middle school when you saved a missed toss from one of your teammates! That’s what I meant!” 

“Okay? But I don’t remember how I did it.” Hinata said with a puzzled expression. “But, I’ll take any toss, got that, Kageyama?!” Kageyama still looked very much shocked from all the embarrassing outbursts from his “friend”. He never met someone as outspoken and honest as Hinata, and the feeling of being admired at with no ulterior motive made his insides feel funny.

The raven haired male ignored the flutter in his stomach. “At this rate, it’s impossible with your skill. But…” Kageyama glanced away, ears light pink. “I guess you’ve improved since then.” Hinata jumped like he was stung. This time, a look of disbelief settled over his round face and his eyes were as wide as dinner plates. 

“You’re acting all weird! Almost like you have  _ emotions.  _ Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?” 

“Shut up.” Kageyama weakly retorted before walking away. Hinata was even more baffled, and his hair stuck up in odd directions from all the flying he went through in the match. He looked more like a shaken baby crow now than ever. 

“That’s right, King. Go ahead and leave.” Tsukishima said in a mock teasing voice with one hand. The orange haired middle blocker’s eyes snapped over to the blond jerk and his eyebrows knit together.

“And, you! I’ll get past you, just you watch! Then you’ll stop bad mouthing me and Kageyama!” Tsukishima rolled his eyes.

“This talk again.” He placed one hand on his hip. “Look, I feel bad for you and all, but you really need to stop psyching yourself up. You’re just setting yourself up for failure with this kind of hopeless pep talk. Some people just aren’t cut out for some things, like how you’re not fit to be a spiker.” He said in a matter of fact tone. 

Hinata’s large doe eyes grew bigger at his blunt remark. He flinched, staring down at his feet with an almost solemn look painted on his face. On the sidelines, Tanaka’s grin grew tight as he rose a fist up at the cocky first year and was about to make his way over to beat the ego out of him before being stopped by the captain himself. 

“That’s true.” Hinata openly admitted before staring at Tsukishima dead in the eye. “In middle school especially, I would jump and jump but I kept getting blocked. Height is needed for volleyball. No matter how high I jump, I can’t get past their overwhelming height. But…” In his young eyes, he vividly remembered how elated, how absolutely excited and in awe of the short volleyball player on the screen, who looked much bigger than everyone else in the match. With wavy and messy pitch black hair, he stood tall amongst the other players, facing the net with matching jet black wings that only Hinata could see. He gaped.

“I know I want to become like that.” His doe eyes were glassy as the Little Giant jumped up and began obliterating the other team. In that very moment his feet unplastered itself from the ground and his small figure erupted up into the air in a spectacular height, Hinata knew he wanted to soar like he did. He would never forget the midnight black setting into stripes of sunrise that painted an inspirational idea in his mind:  _ I want to be the best volleyball player and soar like the Little Giant. _

“I’m going to battle with this body. I’m going to win and win, and be on the court as long as I can.” Kageyama relived his own memories at Hinata’s bold words, and his eyes widened further at the number of surprises he kept going through when standing side by side with young dreamer, Hinata. 

Except his words were not a dream and Hinata’s soaring wings were reality. They were proof that even the smallest, the ones with the worst things in life could soar as high (or even higher) than privileged people. Kageyama remembered the feeling of desire to stay on the court, to run back out into the “war zone” of the match and play and play and play until his body became sore in satisfaction. He wanted to play volleyball and win until he used up every last drop of potential in his body.

“But you don’t have what it takes.” Tsukishima sighed exasperatedly. He really didn’t understand how hard it was for Hinata to comprehend how his height made it impossible for him to win. “This isn’t a matter of psychology. You can’t make up height with your feelings. Now, if you were a libero, that would be a completely different matter.” 

Hinata’s words rang in Kageyama’s head. His dark azule eyes gulped up the image of Hinata soaring up in the air on invisible wings that gave him more height than needed to win. “To break the wall in front of the spiker… That’s the setter’s job.” And with the subtle threat of Kageyama’s utter confidence in his abilities as a setter to bring down Tsukishima, the raven haired male dragged Hinata with him to a more private area, away from the rest of the curious eyes trained on them. 

“W-What? Kageyama!” Kageyama ignored his pleas and roughly threw an arm over him. 

“Oi, guys!” Tanaka side eyed Daichi’s stunned face just in case. He ran over to them with an irritated glint in his eyes. “Don’t fight! Do you want to be banned from this club?!” Kageyama and Hinata were completely immersed with their own private talk however, and they ignored his berating.

“Listen, dumbass: If you can’t spike it, avoid it. Use every ounce of physical ability you have and spike my toss.”

“What the fuck? That’s how you explain a quick?”

“Okay, I got it.” 

“You liar! You don’t understand at all!” Tanaka yelped, calling them out on their bullshit.

“That’s our only plan right now!” Hinata and Kageyama desperately yelled back at the second year. Tanaka shook his head and pointed an accusing finger at Kageyama.

“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden? You were throwing a tantrum like some bratty kid earlier.” 

“I’m not a kid.” Kageyama smoothly replied. Tanaka resisted the urge to smack his palm harshly against his forehead. 

“Don’t lie!” He was utterly ignored as Kageyama shrugged before walking away to stand in a good receiving position. Hinata copied his example and began stretching his arms. Dejected, Tanaka went back to his own position and stared at the white net.

“All right…” Hinata muttered encouragingly to himself, a positive smile on his face. “Let’s do this!” Kageyama watched Hinata from the corner of his eye before turning around to face the other boy. 

Tsukishima was about to serve, but Kageyama ignored the other side for the time being to signal with a finger that he would toss to his left. Hinata nodded his head at the implications and the game commenced. Hinata easily received Tsukishima’s serve and Kageyama tossed the ball back to him as the orange haired male jumped up. However, the volleyball flew past his arm completely and Hinata fell back down to his feet with a shocked expression on his face and his arms straight behind his back. The ball bounced across the wall before landing harshly on the ground.

“Hey, what are you doing?! You have to be fas--” Kageyama cut himself off with a click of his tongue as he realized exactly what he was doing. 

“And there it is: the king’s toss!” Tsukishima sounded a lot like a nosy reporter.

“It’s hard to get at first!” Kageyama protested, and Tsukishima rolled his eyes.

“I wonder…” The next few sets were exactly the same as the first time they tried the fast attack. Hinata would barely graze the ball with his fingertips and in one instant, he even managed to tangle himself up in the net when his eyes were solely on the ball. 

“Ugh. I don’t know how to time it all.” Hinata complained with a sullen face. 

_ “You!” _ Kageyama struggled to string together a band of insults that would show  _ exactly  _ how frustrated he felt. “You have better reflexes than this, so go “pwah” or “gwah” or whatever the hell you say!” 

“Which is it?! “Pwah” or “gwah?! It’s not easy trying to get your toss, Bakageyama!” Hinata snapped back at Kageyama. Even Tanaka joined in on their bicker and the three were about to begin a bigger fight that would no doubt get their asses kicked out of the gym by a livid Daichi before Sugawara stepped up. He picked up a stray volleyball close to the net and stood up to his full height with a neutral expression on his face.

“Kageyama.” He addressed the setter. “You’re reverting back to your old ways in middle school. Um…” 

“But Hinata has the reflexes, speed, and jumping power to receive it.” Kageyama irritably pointed out while jabbing a finger in said male’s direction. “If he gets used to it, then we can do fast attacks.”

“But Hinata’s weapon, which is his speed… Your toss is killing it, don’t you think?” Sugawara rhetorically asked. “Hinata has no experience or technique. He’s not an experienced player who can match your current ability.” He ignored the meek “Sugawara-san” from the little crow and barged on. 

“But, he has high potential of being an amazing volleyball player.” Hinata’s previous deflated form sprung up with sparkles around his grinning face at Sugawara’s praise.

“Aww, senpai, don’t call me a genius or anything! You’re just exaggerating.” Hinata blushed happily, rubbing the back of his head in a shy manner. Tanaka smacked him on his forehead with a small frown.

“If you could do that… Like sync up with his style or something… Maybe, um… I don’t know--” He really struggled to try to explain to the hot headed setter. Even Tanaka’s loud voice saying, “Suga, fight!” didn’t really help his awkward predicament whatsoever.

“You know, use that to your advantage!” Kageyama’s eyes grew huge once more. “I’m a setter too. I watched you in last year’s match and I was completely blown away by your natural talent. The way you control the ball and, most importantly, your ability to calmly detect your opponent’s movements then make quick decisions is astounding. I can’t do any of those, and I’m a second year.” Sugawara stated evenly, but his crestfallen tone gave away how he truly felt about himself. Tanaka protested, but was loudly interrupted by the captain. 

“You have technique; you have passion to be the best. You have an overwhelming drive to win and you have an extraordinary awareness of your surroundings. So there’s no way you can’t see what your teammate is doing.” Sugawara tossed the volleyball in his hands over to Kageyama’s pliant ones. 

The raven haired male mused over the information he collected so far with Hinata’s random outbursts and now Sugawara’s advice. Hinata straightened up as the serious blue eyes locked onto his figure. He scratched his head when Kageyama didn’t say anything for awhile, just staring at him with the rolling waves in his eyes crashing stronger onto the unsuspecting golden beach.

“I envy your fast reflexes and raw talent.” He spoke to Hinata alone. “But you waste your talent by being dumb and that pisses me off. But, I’m going to use all of your abilities.” Kageyama pointed at his partner with a strong will and a set plan already on his mind. Tanaka and Hinata stared at him like he suddenly suggested they wear tutus while dancing to Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” to defeat the other team.

“Use your highest speed. Use your highest jump. I’ll bring the ball to you.”

“Wait, what? Bring the ball to me? What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Get to where there’s no blocker at your max speed and jump. Then spike with all of your might. You don’t have to watch my toss or sync up with the ball at all.” The raven haired male explained.

“Are you  _ insane _ ? If I don’t watch the ball, I’ll just spike the air!” Hinata insisted with dread.

“Maybe so!” 

“Maybe, so?! Oi!”

“But, I want to try this!” At the unwavering gleam in his eyes, Hinata grew more serious. He nodded, trusting that Kageyama’s plan would help them out during the match.

“Alright.” He agreed. His eyes never left the dark ocean that promised absolute victory. Tsukishima talked quietly with Yamaguchi and they eyed the duo with doubtful eyes. There was no way that Hinata and Kageyama would be able to do a quick in their opinion.

The tweet of the whistle sounded the arrival of a new attack from the raven haired male and the orange haired male. They impatiently rested in their positions as the volleyball went up and Tanaka received it first. As the volleyball flew back in the air in almost slow motion, Kageyama concentrated on all the movements of the players on the side of his net as well as the other three players that squeaked their sneakers against the polished floor. His eyes continued to move as the other players physically moved too, and the ball fit perfectly in his palms. He watched as Hinata jumped up, sunset curls all over his face and in the air as Kageyama set the ball perfectly into Hinata’s raised arm.

_ Bam!  _ Kageyama grinned widely at the victorious sound of the ball thudding harshly on the ground on the other side of the net. Hinata’s hand had swung back and just as his hand flew forward, the ball perfectly landed on his palm and ricocheted off onto the other side. 

The other team was stunned into silence. Tanaka and everyone else stared at the duo with equal amounts of shock, awe, and disbelief. Ennoshita managed to remember his role in the match and signalled the point for Kageyama’s team.

“The ball… The ball hit my hand!” Hinata suddenly yelped, snapping everyone out of their daze. “Finally!” He screamed, to which Kageyama yelled back at him to shut up.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes again at Hinata’s overreaction and at how Tanaka praised the younger one. Even the king was grinning widely at their point.

“It’s just  _ one _ point. He doesn’t have to overreact.” He mumbled, mainly to himself. 

“Oi… Just now, Hinata’s eyes… they weren’t  _ open _ .” Daichi croaked out with spooked eyes. 

“Hah?!” Tanaka, Tsukishima, and Kageyama asked as one voice. Daichi shook his head sagely. 

“Um, what?” Tsukishima asked, feeling stupefied and disbelieving at the same time. It was quite disconcerting.

“From the moment Hinata jumped up until he spiked, he had his eyes closed. That means Kageyama tossed it directly into Hinata’s palm when he wasn’t even looking. He synced the toss to the moment he’d swung with total accuracy.” He elaborated in a breathy voice full of awe. Tsukshima lost his cool, sarcastic demeanor as he slumped slightly forward. He didn’t want to believe Daichi, but the captain wouldn’t lie about something like that. Especially not with the wide eyed look he suddenly adopted.

“Awesome! That’s so cool!” Hinata still ranted, staring at his palm like it held the secrets of the world. “Hey, what was that just now? It hit my hand perfectly just as I swung! That was so cool! Hey, Kageyama, what was that?” Hinata babbled excitedly, showing his red hand to a stunned Kageyama. The raven haired male turned his whole body to face the other, pointing at his partner with shock staining his pale face.

“Wha--Why did you close your eyes?!” Kageyama demanded. 

“You were the one who told me not to watch the ball! When my eyes are open, I can’t help but follow the ball so I just closed them.” Hinata tried to explain, but only received puzzled, awe-filled looks in response. He cocked to his head to the side in confusion.

“I did say that, but---” Kageyama trailed off, completely tongue tied at how utterly oblivious the shorter male was. 

“It worked though! What’s wrong with that?” Hinata was literally the most naive person Kageyama had the displeasure to meet.

“Yeah, but who just trusts someone 100% off the bat?” He insisted, trying to get Hinata to understand how naive he was not only in this game but in the real world. Trusting someone 100% was unrealistic, not to mention dangerous at times, and Kageyama briefly wondered how the shortest male in the room made it through life. 

“Well, I don’t exactly have a choice! I have to trust you 100%, idiot!” Hinata stubbornly retorted, causing the white of Kageyama’s eyeballs to grow. He watched as Tanaka tackled Hinata in a one armed hug, ruffling the bird’s nest on his tiny head and praising the other with a large, sly grin. Kageyama couldn’t help but feel mildly impressed. 

_ Maybe with Hinata’s spike and my toss, we can even out the score.  _ He thought. 

Well, a few minutes later, with a few mishaps in which Hinata was the unfortunate victim of too high or too low fast tosses (in which some ended up hitting in on the side of his face), Kageyama regretted ever thinking they would be fine. Just because they did it once doesn’t mean they could do it every single time. With such a new concept, there was bound to be many mistakes.

15-22. The score currently read that Kageyama and Hinata’s team were behind by 7 points. But, although the quick set didn’t seem to be working and Tsukishima grumbled about how they were fools for continuing to try a failed attack, Hinata still jumped every time with his eyes closed. His faith in Kageyama was touching and shocking, and Kageyama made sure to return the favor by steadily tossing the ball more accurately each turn. Sugawara shivered in anticipation, eyes proud yet envious at the fast development of the two freshman.

The volleyball went up in the air as Tanaka received it once more. Tsukishima scoffed, standing tall and ready for any attacks from the losing team with calm indifference. However, he snapped out of his smug state when Hinata’s form suddenly appeared larger at an exponentially increasing rate and in the blond’s haste to stop the literal sun, he mistakenly called for Yamaguchi’s help.

Hinata suddenly swerved and ran the opposite direction from the two blockers towards the empty space with no one there. Tsukishima easily pinpointed his mistake with frenzied golden eyes. He watched as Hinata sprinted all the way to the other side and as the ball elegantly flew out of Kageyama’s careful hands. The short middle blocker sprung up from the ground, and like a crow flying high in the air, his body picked up with the wind like being hoisted up and plucked into the air by the wind itself. Hinata flew.

_ I know I can’t be as tall as the other players, but by even one second faster, I can spike and reach the top! I’ll defeat them with how I currently am and show everyone I can be just like the Little Giant--no, better!  _

With large midnight wings that the normal eye couldn’t detect, Hinata controlled the air at the moment. His arm swung down just as the volleyball contacted with his stinging hand. The redness spread across his hand the same time his giddy heart thumped painfully against his rib cage. Hinata briefly peeked open both eyes and marvelled in the setting sun highlighting the polished gym floor. The volleyball that he struck flew over to the other side and Daichi reacted to the ball last minute.

And as Hinata settled back comfortably on the earth’s floor, the thudding sound of the volleyball meeting the floor along with him filled the air. It resounded across the gym’s walls, and Hinata gazed at his crimson hands shakily. He was elated. To be on the team and to be playing volleyball with his possible new teammates was the reason he travelled an hour every day to Karasuno High School. 

At the same time his eyes were glued on his blossoming hands, Kageyama held the same reaction. With their bangs covering the majority of their face, they grinned and pumped their fists.

“All right!” The match resumed with the same results as the fast attack they had done just now. In the flurry of fast motions and observant eyes desperately clinging onto the volleyball, Tsukishima eventually lost the sweater on his sweating body and jogged back to the game where everyone else already lost their jackets to the sweltering heat in the gym. He fixed his glasses and begrudgingly accepted the blood pumping in his veins was caused by the challenge from the idiotic duo on the other side of the net.

When both sets were completed, Hinata grinned widely at his red, red hands while lying down on the ground. He was beyond exhausted at that point, but his energy knew no bounds as he picked himself back up and bounced around the captain in barely contained excitement. Daichi sighed in fond exasperation before signalling to Kiyoko, their beautiful manager, to bring out the jackets.

She nodded in response, running off and hurrying back with a medium sized cardboard box in her arms. Hinata wanted desperately to go closer to her, but he was extremely shy around very attractive people and he found himself shying away closer to Kageyama. The raven haired male didn’t bat an eyelash at his erratic movements and simply drank down his water bottle with a small frown on his lips and a glittering joy in his eyes. 

Kiyoko opened up the box with a boxcutter and handed Hinata a jacket. His eyes lit up with stars at the sight, but his grin grew lopsided at the number on the jersey.

“These are so cool!” His fingers danced along the smooth black jacket that felt wonderful on his skin. “But why number 10?” He asked while slipping his arms into the holes. Daichi and Sugawara exchanged amused glances before Sugawara stepped forward, patting down Hinata’s hair with as much comfort as a soothing mother.

“I thought you would have noticed, Hinata.” His grin grew kind. “It’s the same number the Little Giant had on his jersey.” Hinata soaked up the information with a gleeful grin on his face. He buried himself in Sugawara’s arms, who stumbled back at the force but otherwise laughed at how the little crow acted. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Hinata chirped happily, bouncing up and down with little crow feet and his hair sticking up in all directions. Daichi smiled in a pleased dad way and Sugawara’s fond eyes didn’t escape anyone’s notice. Hinata showed off his jacket in front of Tanaka, who beamed with as much pride as an older uncle had towards their younger family members. Kageyama duly slipped on his jacket as well, though the light in is eyes gave away his current emotions. Yamaguchi stared at his jacket clad arms like he’s never seen a jacket before while Tsukishima remained indifferent. They lined up together, and Daichi chuckled.

“You all look so sharp.” He complimented before exchanging looks with the other current members on the volleyball team. Hinata couldn’t keep his eyes off of his new team uniform and a sort of joy bubbled at his throat and threatened to burst at the seams. He couldn’t wait until he told Tooru and Hajime the good news!

“From now on, you’re a part of the Karasuno team. It’s nice to have you!” Daichi yelped, short and simple but straight to the hearts of the freshman. As he said his wise words, he turned around, showing off his jacket while the others lined up next to him and copied his actions with no embarrassment in their faces at all. Hinata’s eyes shone with pride as he bowed down along with the rest of the first years.

“Thanks for having us!” They shouted loudly enough for the school, for Japan to hear. Karasuno was back and ready to prove every single volleyball player out there that they would be dethroning the kings and returning back to its former glorious days. They were no longer the flightless crows.

“I have good news!” The door suddenly swung open and a short man with curly black hair and glasses askew on his face emerged with a red face. He panted harshly as he rested against the door frame, a mumbled “thanks” spilling from his lips when Kiyoko brought him a water bottle. Despite his frazzled appearance, everyone in the room mostly recognized the man as the teacher and the advisor for the volleyball team. There was no coach currently at Karasuno for the volleyball team after the retirement of Coach Ukai, but they still managed to pull through.

“Takeda-sensei.” Daichi greeted in surprise. Takeda’s hands were clutching tightly on a stack of papers. He righted himself, smoothing down his already unruly hair and grinning broadly at the curious stares of the volleyball members. He recognized some unfamiliar faces, but the thought quickly shot out of his mind. He waved the papers in his grasp with an almost crazy glint on his glasses as his grin widened even more. 

“We have a practice match with Aoba Jousai!”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i legit listened to reruns of never gonna give you up.....


	3. Making Out At Aoba Jousai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aoba Jousai game at Aoba Jousai with Aoba Jousai at the school Aoba Jousai. The Seijoh game which Karasuno plays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yoyoyo 
> 
> i lied. this is the last update for a while lol. and just when it was getting good shit
> 
> on a better note, this chapter has more of my own version of the episode and a few added/deleted scenes so woot woot
> 
> unbeta'd as usual, possible ooc characters, and badass hinata 
> 
> im gonna go lie down now (i pulled an all nighter updating fanfics left and right lmao)

 

 

“EH?!” Was the collective response around the gym. Takeda’s grin stretched his cheeks and he bobbed his head up and down excitedly. Sugawara joined Daichi in interrogating their advisor as Takeda sported the most proud and happy expression on his face. 

“Did you bow down and beg for a practice match again, sensei?” Daichi strictly asked. He felt sorry that Takeda would go as far as acting like an object in order to gain more benefits for the volleyball team. His dedication and caring nature was what created the fierce protectiveness around him from his beloved students, and the volleyball team was always and forever grateful for their supportive advisor. 

Takeda scratched his head sheepishly. However, he cut off the older members’ protests with another flourish of the papers in his hand. Their eyes immediately snapped down to the bundle of papers, and Takeda grinned at their obvious excitement. 

“I actually didn’t have to beg so much this time around.” He proudly stated. The team members blankly stared at him with disbelief and curiosity in their eyes. “Except they did have one condition.” He explained as he straightened out the papers and read his own writing from when he was talking with the coaches there. 

“Have Kageyama play as setter the whole time and…” He squinted at the smaller, jumbled handwriting. “Oh! And have Hinata play as middle blocker the whole time!” The team blinked owlishly. Hinata hoped his flushing face was written off as exertion from the previous match and not from the mention of Aoba Jousai, and specifically his boyfriends, requesting he play the entire time.

“I understand Kageyama, but why Hinata…?” Daichi asked with a questioning tone as he turned towards the shortest male in the group. Hinata froze at all the eyes suddenly trained on him, and he shifted his feet from side to side. He didn’t want to come out and say that he was dating two notorious volleyball players in Aoba Jousai just yet. Well, at least until a few weeks later (or even months. Years. Centuries.) when they fully trusted him and didn’t make a big deal out of his relationships.

“Uh…” Hinata’s ears colored crimson. Sugawara (bless the motherly hen) sensed his discomfort and walked over to softly ask if he was okay. Hinata bobbed his head up and down quickly, his embarrassment eventually fading with the slight chill in the room and from Sugawara patting his head. 

“Yeah, well isn’t that unfair to Sugawara?” Tanaka asked aloud, a deep frown etching onto his face. Ennoshita nodded his head in agreement while Kinnoshita and Narita whispered amongst themselves with sad looks.

Everyone knew how Sugawara must have been feeling ever since Kageyama showed up and basically took his spot as the team setter. As much as that pained the original setter, Sugawara couldn’t find a single malicious or hateful bone in him to be bitter or angry. He loved his team very much and understood that he would have to sacrifice himself if their team wanted to advance. That was their dream ever since Coach Ukai retired. Sugawara would still be envious and slightly upset, but at the end of the day, he would be proud and happy for his team members for working so hard and striving for their goals.

“I don’t mind.” The setter said. Kageyama’s eyes snapped to him with such ferocity that Sugawara nearly stepped back. “If they want Kageyama to play for the practice match, then let him. This is a great opportunity for him.” Sugawara meant every word he said. He grinned reassuringly to the team, and they did eventually agree with him. Aoba Jousai was one of the name brand schools for volleyball, and Karasuno knew it. Therefore, as much as they hated casting Sugawara aside like that, they knew they wouldn’t want to miss out on a splendid opportunity that presented itself.

Meanwhile, Hinata jumped impatiently at the prospect of finally playing against his boyfriends. He knew Tooru was the perpetrator behind the whole scheme, and he was partially glad, partially nervous at seeing his lover again as rivals this time. The very thought of finally beating Hajime and Tooru excited him to no end and he bounced on the balls of his heels at the thought.

“When’s the practice match?” Daichi calmly asked, though the slight tremble of his shoulders spelled out the excitement within him. The idea of possibly beating a well known team among Japan was enough to have the whole team brimming with glee. Takeda smiled knowingly behind the papers in his tight grasp; he felt truly happy for them for the team members were like his own family. 

“In three days.” Kageyama’s eyes shone with excitement and Hinata jumped up and down. The ginger’s smile grew wider, almost animalistic as he gazed at the volleyball rack to the side. In three days, he would be united with his lovers and he would be able to finally show them how far he’s come. And now, with the weird trick he could do with Kageyama, Hinata knew he held the ability to defeat his long time lovers, mentors, and now rivals. Hinata stuck his tongue out, the pink appendage swiping out and around his mouth as he hungrily stared at the ball. From the side, Tsukishima watched with tremors shuddering down his body. 

Hinata looked absolutely _bloodthirsty._ And fuck did it thrill Tsukishima.

“Perfect,” the smallest member nearly purred, a sickly sweet smile on his face as he walked away with the wind catching the wild curls around his ears. The rest of the team observed the little sway of his hips, whether intentionally or not, when he strut over to the cart full of volleyballs. He turned around, a shiny gleam of sunshine in his eyes as he lifted the ball up and hurled it over to Kageyama. The raven haired male fumbled, but managed to catch the volleyball with a matching intensity curling around his lips in a small smirk. 

“Let’s practice.” Hinata spoke calmly (almost too calmly) and walked away with a ball in his own hands to the available standing net. 

Gradually, the rest of the team trickled away, a few of them nodding respectfully to their advisor or even bowing. Takeda’s eyes were trained on the little spitfire receiving the volleyball as Kageyama set it to him from across the net. Something about the little crow interested Takeda, even though the baby crow still had much more training to endure before he grew. Still, Takeda liked to think of the ginger as a tiny speck of light in the galaxy that would eventually--after years of aging and experience--transform into a beautiful glowing star. 

“One more!” The baby crow called out, gritting his teeth in frustration after Kageyama set another ball and they failed to connect. The duo was now practicing their quick attack, but weren’t managing to be able to properly use it. Hinata kept training his eyes onto the volleyball, despite having closed his eyes the entire time during the match to beat Tsukishima’s team. Obviously, both were becoming increasingly frustrated at their failure, but Kageyama was much more high strung than Hinata.

“Hinata, you dumbass!” Kageyama yelped angrily. “You were supposed to jump higher!”

“Shut up! It’s not my fault you set so low!” Hinata snapped back, agitatedly spinning a volleyball in between his tiny hands. 

“I’m only--!” Kageyama paused to exhale lowly. He didn’t think Hinata would understand that the setter was only trying to set where he thought was best. He played to win, and if Hinata didn’t want to take their upcoming match against Aoba Jousai seriously, then Kageyama would pound it into the other.

“Aw, is the freak duo fighting?” Tsukishima teased, a towel slung around his neck. He dried off a few droplets of sweat as he smirked at the infuriated glare from the raven haired male and a menacing glower from the small wing spiker.

“Shut up, you giant tree trunk.” Hinata propped the volleyball onto his hip, pointing at Kageyama with steel hard eyes. The ring of fire around his caramel eyes  _ burned,  _ and Kageyama could only huddle into the shadows of his namesake to escape the seething beams of light daintily casting wildfire everywhere the ginger looked. It was utterly breathtaking the way Hinata stared at him with unflinching eyes and a pair of curved, downturned lips. 

“And you,” Hinata spoke like  _ he  _ was the king and Tsukishima begrudgingly felt a twinge of respect for the other, “I know what you’re doing.” 

_ “Hah?”  _ Kageyama twitched, nearly bursting out that the other was too dense to understand how much the raven haired male desired to win, win,  _ win.  _

“You’re only trying to set how you think would be the best, right?” The raven haired male blanched. The whole team stopped to watch the sort of fight unfold. But during the duration of the time spent with Kageyama arguing, no one had ever seen Hinata utter such intelligence. Whoever helped train Hinata knew what they were doing.

“How did you--?” Came the strangled squeak from the setter. Hinata shook his head fondly, a slightly bitter smile painted on delicate lips. 

“There’s a reason why you’re called “King of the Court”, Kageyama. Remember that.” And with his final ominous saying, Hinata turned away from the stunned Kageyama and retreated towards a wide eyed Tsukishima and a slack jawed Yamaguchi. 

Daichi cautiously stared at their new member, who grit his teeth and angrily whipped around to grab a spare ball on the ground. The force of his staggering movements caused the gym to succumb to the unearthly screeching of his brand new running shoes as he flipped back to face the net with a ball in his hand. With one swift movement, he performed a shaky back attack with a powerful hand that shook the air around him .

“Whoa.” Yamaguchi muttered in awe, his eyes turning to stare at the bundle of untouched fire. Hinata splayed out his fingers to stretch them with a calm rationality surrounding his aura. The tiny tremor rolling around his body lazily told a completely different story, however. 

“That was pretty brave of you, shrimpy.” Tsukishima smirked, even as his heart countered his outer appearance and drummed rapidly against his rib cage. The stunt before had successfully thrilled him to seek out the mystery behind their golden boy and the mentor/helper behind Hinata. The blond didn’t typically like mystery novels for he found he could always discern the perpetrator from the very start. However, Hinata was one of the few mysteries he was willing to dive further into. 

The male was still very much behind in the basics, that much was true. But, behind the clumsy baby crow walking on unsteady legs was a ferocious and wild beast, much akin to a lion, that roared with raw power. 

“I didn’t say that to be brave.” Hinata spoke in a hushed tone. The shadow of his bangs covered his intense golden eyes, his words spinning just as pure golden threads into the freshman duo’s minds. They blinked. When they reopened their eyes, Hinata was back with a fiery vengeance and practically lit up the room. 

“I said that to  _ win.”  _ Tsukishima froze. As Hinata sauntered away from the duo, calling out for Sugawara to practice a few hits, the blond chuckled. Yamaguchi eyed his friend bizarrely, but didn’t say another word.  _ What do you know… Shortie isn’t so different from the king after all.  _

  
  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  
  


Three days passed by in a blur of volleyball practice, learning with one eye open during class, and binging on pork buns for the little Hinata Shouyou. He settled into a familiar routine of waking up at the beginning colors of dawn, then biking down the mountain to school when the sun finally began to sleepily rise. By the time he arrived at the gym, it would be barely 7 am and he would stretch until his teammates arrived to the gym one by one, each with identical yawns. Kageyama would always arrive immediately after Hinata, but neither truly spoke a word from their last heated “argument”. Tanaka would swing by shortly, the clubroom key dangling from a crooked finger as he whistled a merry tune. 

Right on schedule: “Morning, first years!” The older male greeted them. Kageyama simply nodded to the elder while Hinata bounded up to Tanaka.

“Good morning, Tanaka-senpai!” An undignified noise spewed out of Tanaka’s lips like he was stabbed right in the heart from Hinata’s words (he probably was). “It’s really nice out, huh?” 

“What are you babbling about, shrimpy?” Tsukishima grumbled as he walked in with Yamaguchi lagging behind. “It’s too early to decipher your inhuman language.” Hinata stuck out his tongue at the taller, eliciting a sleazy smirk from the blond. 

“Morning, Yamaguchi!” Hinata seemed to ooze with excitement as he bounced over to Yamaguchi next. The freckled male blinked in surprise for he was not used to having such bright attention on him. If anything, the spotlight was usually on his more handsome, smarter friend, Tsukishima. Yet, Hinata ignored his friend to speak to boring, normal Yamaguchi. 

“G-Good morning, Hinata-kun.” The beam following his words nearly blinded the brunette. “How are you?” Tsukishima snorted, a tell tale sign of his annoyance as he walked away to the clubroom first. Yamaguchi robotically tagged along with Hinata trailing after him like a tiny pup.

“You can just call me Hinata.” The ginger shrugged. “I’m really excited about the upcoming practice match with Aoba Jousai though!” He bounced in his steps, a cheery smile adorning his childlike face. For a dawning second, Yamaguchi almost found the other as  _ cute.  _

“A-Ah, I see, Hinata.” A pause. A pair of lips curling up. “I’m excited too.” 

“Right?! The match will be like pow, and then gwah! And I can’t wait to spike it cause it’ll be like whoosh!” Yamaguchi blinked. Were those even words? Tsukishima snickered as he opened up his own locker next to the brunette’s. 

“That’s nice?” Yamaguchi tried. He earned himself another bright smile. 

“You’re so much nicer without tree trunk, Yama!” 

_ “Yama?”  _ Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and even Kageyama repeated in disbelief. Hinata nodded. 

“Yeah! You’re a lot cooler than I thought!” He wrinkled his nose and without even saying a goodbye like a proper person, Hinata scurried away next to a weary Kageyama and hurriedly took off his shirt. Yamaguchi turned away to change himself, but he couldn’t help but wonder why a dark red hue flushed across his freckled cheeks.

“Are you ready to play against Aoba Jousai?” Hinata casually asked, though his erratic movements were anything but casual. Kageyama twitched; he couldn’t help it if every single thing coming from his teammate’s mouth sounded like a challenge. The raven haired male forced himself to calm down. 

“Yeah.” He lamely said instead, and Hinata snorted back a fitful of laughter. 

“Let’s go then,  _ yeah?”  _ Hinata teased with a flutter of his eyelashes that looked suspiciously like a wink. Kageyama looked like he had been colored by a red rose crayon. His eyebrows furrowed as he chased after a gleefully chortling Hinata, who rolled to the ground to avoid one of Kageyama’s fists of fury and landed back up to his full height to sprint. 

“Damn, first years.” Tanaka said with a hint of fondness. “Hey, wait up! Daichi’s going to kill me if either of you die!” The bald headed man yelped, hot on the trail of suppressed emotions and a bundle of joy. 

“Let him. I’d honestly be happier without any of those annoying children.” 

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi laughed anyway. Looks like it would be another hectic day in Karasuno.

“OI. SLOW THE FUCK DOWN.” And there was Daichi. Yamaguchi hurriedly threw his messy clothes into his locker and shut it firmly. Tsukishima at least waited for him, though the other couldn’t help but feel guilty. They shut the clubroom door and basically descended into hell. 

  
  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  
  


Kageyama shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t wish to be in this position, but it’s not like anyone ever cared about his opinion. He was a decent man, with a maybe strange addiction towards flavored milk and pork curry with a delectable sunny side egg on top. And maybe he did have a really scary face that managed to scare animals and children alike, not in that order. It wasn’t his fault though! It’s not like he  _ chose  _ to be the “spawn of Satan” or “really creepy, mommy, make him go away!”. God, if anything, his father was to blame for his scary scowl and his mother for her stoic attitude. 

So, why was Kageyama Tobio, expert setter and milk extraordinaire, forced to endure the bus ride to Aoba Jousai with Hinata “I-value-volleyball-and-pork-buns-more-than-social-sanity” Shouyou? 

The raven haired male huffed softly, afraid to wake up the other lest he be attacked with loud whines and annoying complaints from the other. Instead, he focused on glaring at the reflection of Tsukishima, who was sneering in his direction when he thought the setter wasn’t looking. Yamaguchi had already knocked out long after, so at least one of the goons wasn’t sending Kageyama a nasty, smug smile. And gods, did Kageyama want to tear Tsukishima’s smirk off and beat the other with it. See, this is what happens when Kageyama was under little to no sleep and having to face at least four irritating teammates (and counting) as well as his past “mentor” of sorts from middle school. Lovely.

“You look comfy, King.” Tsukishima muttered under his breath for as much as he was an asshole, he still valued his sanity. Kageyama only managed to glare at the other. Tsukishima scoffed before pushing his headphones back onto his ear to drown out the biting remarks from his eternal enemy. 

Before Kageyama could launch across the bus aisle and fulfill his dream of beating Tsukishima into a green bean pulp, Hinata stirred and began to yawn. It was like puppies and sunshine mixed into a blender and vomited its contents all over Kageyama’s bewildered face. Cause  _ fuck.  _ Why did Hinata yawn like a baby kitten waking up for its milk to spoil its round tubby? Hell, it was like a tiny baby proudly uttering their first word with an accomplished, beaming face afterwards when their parents (or parent/guardian) happily praised the child. It was just so fucking cute and Kageyama had to brush the thoughts along the lines of,  _ oh no, he’s cute,  _ away before something terribly dumb happened. Like the raven haired male kissing Hinata. Fuck.

“Mm,” Hinata moaned in bliss, and fuck that was not helping, “Kageyama?” His voice was huskier, calmer. Kageyama prayed to any deity listening that the bubblegum pink on his cheeks wasn’t that noticeable. 

“Nice blush, King. Have something you want to share with the team?” Tsukishima called out, the same infuriating grin plastered on his face. Kageyama swore. 

“Shit the fuck up.” Only for the poor raven haired male to be mortified.  _ What the actual fuck was he saying?  _ Tsukishima blinked. Then, he began to roar with laughter.

Kageyama honestly wished a car would break a few laws to hit into the bus they were currently in just so he wouldn’t be steaming in an ugly shrimp pink stained across his cheeks like regret. Yamaguchi eventually woke up too from his friend’s hyena like laughter and he blinked around in confusion. Hinata chuckled deep within his throat, eyeing Kageyama with amusement. 

“Really, Kageyama?” Hinata ducked the punch sent his way. “Wah! Stop trying to hurt me! Tsukishima was the one who started laughing first!” And he didn’t seem to be stopping with the way he was hunched over on his seat, bangs plastered to his forehead as he muffled his laughter against the dirty bus seat in front of him. Daichi, who sat in front of the blond, turned his head nearly 180 degrees with a killer smile on his face.

“What’s going on back there?” He said in that kind of tone mothers used to settle down the boisterous children in the back. Kageyama swore he could hear Daichi say, “If you don’t stop, so help me, I will turn this car around, Timmy.”

“Did you hear Kageyama, captain?” Hinata laughed through the pain from the punch aimed at his head. “He said--ow! OW! OKAY, OKAY! I’LL STOP!” Hinata whimpered when he managed to tear away from Kageyama’s brutal fists. He pouted, edging away from Kageyama and their previously intimate position in which Hinata lay his drooling face onto the raven haired male’s shoulder. Kageyama reminded himself to clean his jacket when he got home.

Daichi’s brow rose. “Oh? What did he say?” He sounded more amused than anything, so at least the freshman could live to see another day. 

“He was trying to shut up fishing pole over there,” Hinata pointed at the still laughing Tsukishima, who managed to flip him off at the nickname. The ginger ignored the warning glare from his partner in volleyball. “I guess he was trying to say shut the fuck up,” here he ignored the scandalized looks at the sharp language from his tongue coming from a tiny childlike boy, “and instead, Kageyama said, ‘shit the fuck up’.” 

A delicate pause. Tanaka broke first and began to choke on his own spit straight afterwards. Sugawara delicately hid his laughter behind a polite smile and trembling hand while his boyfriend rolled his eyes, but a large grin could be seen on his face. 

“Wow.” Yamaguchi summed up the situation pretty well. He wasn’t laughing, but a twitch of his lips had him grinning ear to ear. “Nice job, Kageyama.” The male now resembled a boiling crab at this point. 

“Shut up!” 

“Aww, he got it right!” Tsukishima paused in his laughter to sneer. He eventually calmed down from the high and reverted back to the cool asshole role in the group. Kageyama flipped him the bird, but otherwise decided to wallow in his own shame as a watered down puddle. Hinata took pity in him and nudged him softly with a sharp elbow. Kageyama narrowed his eyes at the other, who was basically a traitor in his eyes for speaking about his mistake in grammar in front of the whole team. 

“All of us make mistakes, Kageyama. Don’t mind, don’t mind.” Hinata pat his friend’s (?) back. To Kageyama though, it looked more like he was teasing the setter instead of trying to lend a comforting hand. Kageyama bit back the bitter retorts. He then punched Hinata “lightly” on the shoulder. 

“Ow!” Hinata frowned. And nope, Kageyama didn’t totally feel a bit of remorse for hitting the other. “I was just trying to help, jerk!” The ginger turned away with a huff, refusing to look at the raven haired male who actually looked sorry for a second. The rest of the ride was silent, mainly with Kageyama staring out the window (and denying staring at Hinata’s reflection in the window) and Hinata running volleyball simulations in his head. 

When the team arrived at the elite school, Kageyama gratefully allowed himself out of the suffocating bus. He helped Sugawara in pulling out materials for the upcoming volleyball practice match. Tanaka and Hinata went ahead to check out the large gym as soon as the bus stopped while Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were standing in front of the bus, chatting. Sugawara eventually shooed him away to possibly make out with his boyfriend before the game began. 

So, Kageyama met up with Tanaka halfway, who left something in the bus, and ended up walking with Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Tanaka back to the gym. No one wanted to be left behind as a third wheel with the kissing mommy and daddy, so they returned to the gym wearing black coats to match their black moods (watching people make out in front of you tended to do that). Tanaka led the first years around, and they just so happened to bump into longtime rival, Kindaichi Yutaro with an unrecognizable brown haired boy.

“Ah.” Kageyama said seriously. He overheard Kindaichi trash talking about him (and his team members) again, but the words no longer hurt as much as when he was a young, insecure middle schooler. Besides, Kageyama would much rather focus on volleyball in the future than the mistakes his teammates did in the past. 

“What did you say?” Tanaka growled, curling his lip in distaste. Kindaichi and his friend startled at the sudden appearance of the one they were talking about and the rest of the raven haired male’s team. A crow cawed viciously in the distance, signalling the arrival of the new Karasuno team clad in matching coal black and staring ominously at the Aoba Jousai team members. Kindaichi shuddered. 

“Um…” The brunette began nervously since his friend wasn’t melting back to his usual self anytime soon. 

“You shouldn’t underestimate us,” Tanaka said with a malicious grin and a flight of crows cawed in agreement in the background, “or we’ll  _ eat  _ you  _ alive. _ ” 

“Oh no, Tanaka-san. You shouldn’t be saying such things.” Tsukishima’s glasses glinted manically as a cheshire cat smirk curled its tail around his lips. “We don’t want to scare these  _ poor  _ elite boys, now do we? I’ll feel so bad.” 

“W-We’re not scared to take you on!” Kindaichi snapped back in a futile attempt to show he was not indeed intimidated.

Tanaka ignored him. “You’re right, Tsukki-chan,” Tsukishima grunted at the nickname but otherwise kept his usual smug grin, “We shouldn’t rough them up until the actual match now, should we?” He took a large step forward, his toothy grin shining sinisterly in the light. Before he could snark back to the two opponents, a loud, furious voice interrupted their intimidation tactic. Tsukishima turned away innocently, Tanaka froze, Yamaguchi stopped smirking, and even unmovable Kageyama shifted his eyes away. Hell hath no fury when an angered Daichi arrived to the scene.

“OI! Stop it you guys!” Daichi reprimanded them loudly before forcing Tanaka to dip down to a proper 90 degree angle. “We apologize.” The captain said with gritted teeth. He forcibly pushed Tanaka away from the other team members, grumbling a few explicit curse words that Sugawara would smack out of him. The rest of the remaining Karasuno teams trailed behind their captain almost sullenly; they were quiet as they walked away from the momentarily stunned Aoba Jousai team members. 

In the gym, Hinata was back to his cheerful self and jumping around his teammates with an impatient kick in his step. Tsukishima batted the other away with bored insults, so Hinata found himself sticking with Kageyama and the older team members more. Tanaka loudly proclaimed they would defeat the elite school with determination in his eyes while Daichi shook his head and Sugawara calmed the bald headed wing spiker before Daichi got arrested (who would cuddle up to the silver haired setter when it was cold? Who would kiss away his pain and possibly kiss other things as well?).

“I have to go pee!” Hinata suddenly yelped, throwing himself into a random direction and out of they gym where they were supposed to be practicing. Little did he know, he would later face Kageyama and his old teammate. Like right now.

“Kindaichi.” Kageyama greeted stiffly. Hinata listened in on their conversation, but only because the two were heatedly staring at each other (and not in a sexual way either) while blocking the bathroom. Hinata bit back a whine. He drank too many juice boxes before leaving, so now he had to go really bad! Well, that and the fact that Hajime and Tooru were only a few meters away from him now instead of miles. And fuck did he want to kiss the living daylights out of them.

He had barely caught a glimpse of his boyfriend’s midnight locks before he all but sprinted out of the gym from the sudden queasiness in his stomach. Even after all the time spent training with his lovers, his weak stomach still liked to act out now and again. He was lucky he didn’t puke on anyone like say, Tanaka on the bus ride to their match.

But, now? Now, he was stuck waiting for Kageyama and his former teammate, friend,  _ whatever  _ to duke it out or hopefully realize they were blocking the way to the bathroom for  _ some people  _ (not calling anyone out or anything) to use. Hinata could literally feel the sweat rolling down his face as he elegantly performed the pee dance. 

“We’ll beat you, King of the Court! You’ll see our true strength in Aoba Jousai!” Kindaichi announced, and that was fine and dandy and all, but could they take their confessions somewhere else?! Kageyama snorted. 

“We’ll see.” He mysteriously said. And with as much gracefulness as a king with an overflowing cape, he turned around and walked away from the other. Kindaichi muttered something vile under his breath, but Hinata couldn’t care less because now the bathrooms were free! The ginger slid out of his hiding spot, ducked past a man who looked a lot like he swallowed a turnip seed and grew a turnip on his head, and threw open the door to the bathroom. As quick as a flash, the zipper was pulled down, his yogurt slinger was out and about, and sweet release was emptied out into the holy white bowl. 

Hinata zipped back up, a relieved smile on his face as he hummed a merry tune. With a skip in his step, the ginger turned around, unsuspecting of the dark smile from one of the darker corners of the bathroom. For such a rich school, one would think they would be able to afford better lighting in the men’s bathroom, but whatever. Maybe they spent it all on better things like volleyball equipment or something. 

As the golden eyed boy began scrubbing his hands, the shadow looming from the corner of the stalls paced forward without a single noise coming from his large steps. Hinata stared down at his hands, enjoying the smell of aloe flavored soap that calmed his nerves. He didn’t notice another being in the same bathroom as him until a rush of air tingled around his sensitive ears. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up from the airy chuckle curling around his ear intimately. Hinata flushed pleasantly as a set of long arms latched onto his small waist. 

“Look what I caught: a little shrimp.” Hinata rolled his eyes and closed the running faucet. His loud heartbeat drummed against his chest but for a completely different reason this time. With hands still damp, Hinata quickly spun around in the person’s tight grip and lightly flicked his wet fingers to the person’s face.

“Hi, Tooru!” Hinata innocently greeted with a large, sunny smile dancing on the corners of his lovely pink mouth. Oikawa pouted, faux hurt shining in chestnut orbs as he wiped the water droplets off his face with the side of his palm.

“How mean, chibi-chan! You ruined my gorgeous face!” A wicked smile from the setter pleased the ginger more than he would care to admit. “You should be punished.” He purred, the brunette effectively trapping his prey against the sink top. Hinata grinned, allowing himself to be propped up on the sink. 

“Well, now you’re just dripping with good looks,” Hinata countered back playfully and he happily received a loving kiss on the lips accompanied by a dusting of crimson on his lover’s cheeks. 

“Nice try, Sho-chan.” Oikawa crooned as he planted kisses all over his boyfriend’s adorable face and on the cheeks round with baby fat. Oikawa always adored the baby fat still clinging on Hinata’s face; he was just so cute when he pouted or smiled, those rosy cheeks forever freckled with a light pink. 

Hinata accepted his fate to be devoured by his clingy boyfriend. They both honestly missed each other, illustrated by the way they embraced longingly with their lips and chased each other’s breaths with matching goofy grins and affection filled orbs shiny with unspoken emotions clogging up their throats. They let their actions speak for each other and basked in the solitude of their surroundings to be able to love freely without society’s expectations and disapproval as well as the curious, and sometimes disgusted, looks from onlookers. 

Oikawa loved the bright literal sun melting with his lips while Hinata enjoyed the calmness of the sky and clouds molding into his skin. They were only missing the sharp wind that soothed their souls and supported their backs with chilling intensity to care for their loved ones. 

Hinata pulled away first, albeit hesitantly, to gaze with half lidded eyes into the circles of warm cinnamon that resulted in the loud pitter patter of his heart to dip down and  _ sing.  _ The wing spiker giggled almost drunkenly as he smoothed a warm hand down Oikawa’s handsome face; Oikawa responded in kind with pecking the fingertips of his beloved’s hand. The couple’s cheeks were beginning to painfully strain with how they smiled with stretched cheeks at the other, but neither cared. Even when the bathroom door swung open noisily, the duo was too lost in the dreams swirling in the depths of their eyes. 

Someone cleared their throat, quite impatiently as well. “You’re lucky no one else came to check up on you two.” Hinata snapped out of his daze and colored quite prettily. His toothy grin grew, however, at the sound of the familiar voice. It was rough, but still pretty to Hinata all the same, especially when paired to a ruggedly handsome face with sharp features creating an illusion of rough, dangerous edges angled across his visage. 

“Hajime!” Hinata hopped off of the sink top and nearly fell over on his face if Oikawa hadn’t steadied him with a chuckle rising from his chest like bubbles from a champagne bottle. Iwaizumi’s eyes softened and he opened his arms to accept the warm hug from his boyfriend he hadn’t seen in months. The orange haired male breathed in the familiar scent of fresh laundry and honey lemons. Iwaizumi stared fondly at the mop of sunset curls and in turn, inhaled the hot chocolate and pumpkin spice lotion (he always claimed it was his sister’s or mother’s lotion, but both lovers knew Hinata’s younger sister hated the scent while his mother preferred overly sweet flower scents over pumpkin spice). 

“I missed you so much.” Hinata openly confessed, eyes of glossy morning dew transcending through Iwaizumi’s form. And much like a brick without face or emotion, Iwaizumi blinked monotonously. That is, until a vivid strawberry hue smeared beyond the raven haired male’s cheeks and swooped down to his neck. 

Oikawa snickered from the sidelines with tender eyes and a starry smile that glistened from his intensive oral and lip care (he secretly liked to use this brand of lip gloss that had the name, “Out of this World” scrawled on the bottom of it, and it was honestly endearing enough for Iwaizumi and Hinata to not care). 

“I missed you too, Shouyou.” Iwaizumi brought his cute boyfriend up with him into a warmer embrace; Hinata squeaked, but he appreciated the gesture all the same. “How have you been?” He asked quietly, secretly melting into a pile of goo all because of one first year wing spiker with black wings on his back and dreams out of this world reflecting in his wide eyes. 

“I’m good! Karasuno is nice and--” 

“Come to Aoba Jousai, Sho-chan!” Oikawa interrupted with a quivering bottom lip. Hinata wasn’t prone to falling for the trick, much like his stoic raven haired male boyfriend, and he blinked. A soft smile delicately rested on his fair mouth. 

“I like Karasuno, To-chan.” At the nickname, Oikawa beamed in satisfaction. Iwaizumi could only roll his eyes in fond exasperation at his idiot boyfriend (s). “And I have to be able to stand on my own.” He stated matter of factly. 

Oikawa hummed, a huge grin splitting his cheeks at the implications behind it. If Oikawa and Iwaizumi were the mentors of the “hero”, then Hinata was the “hero”, the one surpassing the mentor in order to grow. Hinata still had a long way ahead of him in terms of volleyball growth, but his head start due to his loving boyfriends set him higher than other first year players with little experience. Hinata would shine above the rest, essentially being the lively sun in the middle of the trash heap that was once a victorious powerhouse named, “Karasuno”. 

“We’ll be waiting.” Iwaizumi promised. Hinata beamed up at him, the once beast like resemblance gone in place of a dreaming boy who had not yet hit his growth spurt (at this rate, however, they didn’t expect him to hit one, but Hinata insisted). 

“Don’t make us wait too long.” Oikawa cheerily commented, though it was more of a command than anything. Hinata’s toothy grin stretched. 

“I won’t.” 

  
  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  
  


“Hinata! Where have you been?!” Daichi exclaimed at the same time Kageyama screamed, “Dumbass! Be here on time!” 

“Sorry,” Hinata said sheepishly. He clutched onto his stomach as an explanation. “I was feeling really nervous, I guess, so I sprinted to the bathroom.” He chuckled airily and hoped it didn’t sound like 90s sitcom laughter: fake as fuck basically. Sugawara eyed him worriedly. 

“Are you sure you’re fine? Do you want to sit the first set out?” The silver haired mother hen asked, fretting over the littlest crow with slender fingers. Hinata shook his head aggressively, hoping his lie wouldn’t be caught by his teammates. 

However, he forgot about one of the most observant assholes of his generation: Tsukishima Kei. The blond didn’t know what happened to the shorter male, but there were red marks dotting the underside of his jaw. And if his knowledge of necking in the bathrooms stood true, then Hinata was literally screwed.

“That was a pretty loud scream, Hinata.” He pleasantly stated, sounding very much like another worried teammate. Yamaguchi eyed him weirdly, but he ignored it. Sugawara looked like a touched mother as he placed a hand over his heart.

“He’s actually caring for someone.” Sugawara said to Daichi. The captain rolled his eyes, but he held onto his boyfriend’s hand. He squeezed reassurance back into the silver haired male before the game actually started.

“I don’t know. I still think Hinata should sit this one out.” 

Tsukishima didn’t know what overcame him. It was an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something about the thought of another person creating angry red blemishes on the smaller boiled unpleasantly in the blond’s stomach. He wondered if he was catching the flu, or perhaps the idiot disease Tanaka, Hinata, and Kageyama constantly harbored within themselves. It would explain how irrational he was being in trying to sit Hinata out as some sort of twisted revenge for something that didn’t even involve Tsukishima.

Hinata glared at the glasses clad male. “I’m fine.” He grit his teeth. 

“Tsukishima’s right, Hinata.” Sugawara tapped his unoccupied fingers across his chin. “You should sit this one out. Unless you feel a little better.” The setter made his way to Hinata, tugging his lover with him who merely followed obediently. Sugawara placed a soothing, cold hand against the red skin of Hinata’s face. Nothing had happened in the bathroom; well, at least nothing past heavy make out sessions. 

“Your face is a bit red, Hinata.” Tsukishima smiled sickeningly sweet when Hinata growled under his throat at him. For some strange reason, having the tiny wing spiker’s attention on him made Tsukishima a lot, dare he say it, happier. He chalked it up as having the pleasure to mess with the ginger. 

“He’s right.” Sugawara cupped his cheek worriedly. For the sake of a less anxious mother hen, Daichi pat Sugawara’s back in a comforting manner.

“Alright, Hinata. You’re not playing for the first set.” 

_ “WHAT?!”  _ Hinata and Kageyama yelled at the same time. Kageyama didn’t want to admit he was hovering closer to the wing spiker. For completely platonic reasons of course.

Meanwhile, Hinata despaired. He suddenly wished he hadn’t drank all those boxes of juice and that he hadn’t allowed Oikawa and Iwaizumi to kiss him until he resembled a glowing red Christmas light.  _ How am I supposed to show Hajime and Tooru my new skills?!  _ He bemoaned inwardly.

“I’m sorry, Hinata, but if you’re feeling unwell, I can’t allow you to play. You can play the second set.” Daichi sounded slightly apologetic, but it still didn’t help that Hinata felt like utter shit. He smiled weakly at a reassuring Sugawara but it didn’t quite reach his usually sparkling amber eyes. Even his curls seemed to lie flat on his head to match his mood.

“Okay…” Hinata looked like a literal kicked puppy. Or a child living with his poor family during Christmas and finally figuring out he was poor when he found his mother crying in the kitchen and his father (or other parent) sighing forlornly to himself. 

And fuck did Tsukishima suddenly regret his decision to harass the other. Kageyama wasn’t faring any better. No one else could match his setting speed other than Hinata, so how would they be able to do a quick? The raven haired male knew the game suddenly became ten times harder now that Hinata was out. On the upside though, Kageyama hadn’t noticed Oikawa anywhere, so perhaps the other team’s captain was stuck with the flu or something.

“Win.” Hinata clutched onto Kageyama’s jersey, his eyes cast to the ground. Kageyama felt like even if he did stare into those wide doe eyes, he would be able to sense the urgency to play in them. 

“Win for me.” The shorter male said, and it was like he was the king all over again that one afternoon. Kageyama grit his teeth; he wanted to strike back with something that would sound fine to him but haughty to others. But, he restrained himself with a deep exhale and ripped Hinata’s firm fingers off of his wrinkling jersey. 

“That goes without saying.” He coolly said. Hinata’s large orbs trailed after him, and Kageyama couldn’t help but wonder if the shiver tumbling down his spine was one of fear, trepidation, or excitement. Needless to say, he was quite excited with the obvious challenge Hinata presented to him and Kageyama was never one to back down from one.

Hinata sat down on the bench next to Sugawara. He counted the jerseys across other side of the net and found he was missing one important member. His eyes widened. Hinata balled up material from his volleyball shirts and gripped onto them tightly. Karasuno may have a chance to win!

“Let’s have a good game!” The referee called out to start the game. It was just a practice match, but the intensity from both sides of the net was choke worthy. Hinata felt pride well up in his chest at his teammates, and he chanted out encouraging support to the members in the middle of the “battle field”. Yamaguchi flanked his right while Sugawara sat on his left. Takeda sat on a foldable chair with a book full of volleyball references and another notepad with scrawled numbers. 

And without further ado, the match began. 

  
  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  
  


They lost the first match. It was an obvious statement, but they quickly lost to a powerhouse school even without their captain. Oikawa was still nowhere to be seen and Hinata wondered if the other male was actually sick or something. He didn’t look sick in the dim lighting of the bathroom, but then again, Hinata had been too busy making out with his eyes closed with his boyfriends so it’s not like he would have noticed. Hinata flushed at the thought again. His face turned even more beet red when Iwaizumi cast him a knowing glance; the male had the audacity to send him a smug smirk, not unlike one Oikawa would have.

“Hinata, are you feeling better?” Sugawara asked him, having joined the younger boy after giving moral support to his own boyfriend. Hinata quickly wiped off the red hue on his face and nodded vigorously at his older teammate. Sugawara hummed, his eyes scanning Hinata’s visage for any detection of a lie. 

“Okay. I think you’re fine to go then.” The silver haired setter cheerfully said, grin growing when Hinata visibly perked up. The large orange curls bounced up and down as Hinata jumped up to give a laughing Sugawara a hug. 

“Thanks, Suga-mama!” He yelped, ignoring the snickers from his other teammates at the nickname bestowed upon an unfortunate Sugawara. The older male remained unfazed, however, and he smiled down at the little crow in his arms. Hinata sped away afterwards to excitedly babble to an irritated Kageyama, who was further annoyed by the sudden encounter with literal sunshine and bubbles.

“And I’m going to play in the next set, Kageyama!” Hinata jumped up and down his arms out. Kageyama’s scowl hardened. 

“Just make sure not to mess up.” Immediately, the pleasant aura around the orange haired boy collapsed.  _ Uh oh,  _ was the collective thought around the team. Tanaka clambered over to them as Kageyama’s pointed glare turned to sweep around the gym and freeze unsuspecting victims that caught his icy eye. Hinata glowered openly at the raven haired male, his eyes a darker amber that intensified when Kageyama turned his snooty like glare back at him.

“I’ll be sure not to,  _ King.”  _

Now, Hinata was not usually a person to be riled up. Most of the time, the insults flew over his head. However, being with a bitter Oikawa tended to sway his mind when it came to “geniuses” and Kageyama in general. He didn’t truly understand what it was like to have a “dictator” hovering over his head until he met the genius setter. And Kageyama’s snooty attitude pissed him off more than he would like to admit. 

“What did you say?!” Kageyama hurled his body towards the tiny decoy, who didn’t back up from the possible attack from his own teammate. Hinata crossed his arms in defiance.

“Look, I’m sorry we didn’t win the first set against the team you hate the most, but it doesn’t mean you get to act like a jerk. I want to play and win as much as you do!” 

“If you want to win, then don’t mess up, dumbass!” Kageyama growled before waving Hinata off as if he was some small nuisance. “Just listen to me and you’ll be fine.” And with that, he dismissed the other and walked away to his position on the court. Sugawara ran after the setter to tell him why you  _ shouldn’t  _ treat your teammate like your servant after giving Hinata an uncertain glance. Tanaka pat Hinata on the back.

“Don’t mind what he says, Hinata.” Tanaka tried. Hinata just nodded, though the same beast like look was locked on to Kageyama’s retreating form. He slowly exhaled from his nose before casting a beam at his favorite senpai. 

“Thanks, Tanaka-senpai! I guess I’m just upset cause I didn’t get to play…” Hinata admitted, fidgeting in his spot at the prospect of playing the next game. Maybe then Oikawa would finally join them. Hinata stretched languidly, a large grin replacing his former frown.

“That’s the spirit, first year!” Tanaka smiled fiercely at Hinata before jogging back to his own position on the court. Hinata stood by the end of the court, a bark of an order from the captain and the loud whistle ringing across the gym a signal of the next game beginning. Hinata was to serve, and he unconsciously narrowed his eyes at Kageyama’s form near the net.

Without thinking, Hinata confidently strode across the little space to set before spiking the ball sharply to the left. And of course, the wild orange head managed to serve the ball right against the back of an unsuspecting Kageyama’s head. Kageyama’s head ducked down from the impact as the volleyball ricocheted off of the setter’s head. Silence. And then, utter chaos from the Karasuno side of the team.

Tsukishima and Tanaka began to howl with unrestrained laughter. Yamaguchi couldn’t contain his own giggles as Sugawara shook his head with a low snort. He knew exactly what happened within Hinata’s mind and he couldn’t help but be amused by how vicious the small shrimp could be when he wanted to be.

Meanwhile, a gradually darkening Kageyama flipped around eerily, his gait matching his furious aura as he stopped in front of a nonchalant Hinata.

Hinata stared up at him without flinching. “Whoops.” He uttered unapologetically. Tsukishima fucking lost it at Hinata’s words.

“Nice serve, Hinata!” He cackled, placing his arms around his stomach as he laughed up a storm. 

“Nice receive, Kageyama!” Tanaka teased as well, ignoring the angry glare thrown his way. He was easily silenced by an amused Daichi after a while. Tsukishima had to physically remove himself out of the gym from all his laughter. 

“Fucking whoops?” Kageyama calmly said. Hinata begrudgingly admitted to himself that his teammate/partner was quite intimidating when he wanted to be as well. Kageyama began hitting the back of his head harshly as he emphasized his words. Hinata flinched, imagining how the wound would sting from a blow from a fast volleyball and then from huge smacks.

“Are you nervous or something, Hinata?” Hinata felt shivers run down his spine at his surname being menacingly rolled across Kageyama’s rough tongue. “You shouldn’t be. Not after what you did to  _ me.”  _ Hinata backed away, Kageyama following his timid footsteps until he trapped Hinata against the wall. It was a wonder the match didn’t start again after this whole ordeal.

Kageyama hit the back of his head one more time. “You better think twice before doing the same shit again, Hinata.  _ Or else. _ ” Hinata gulped at the obvious threat, his eyes trailing down his partner’s body as he realized just how close the other was. They were nearly nose to nose as Kageyama trapped him against the wall.

“I-I understand!” Hinata pushed Kageyama away, his eyes trying hard not to be lured into the dark pools of blue reflecting in his own golden ones. At the moment, he was swamped with how truly stunningly azule the raven haired male’s orbs were. Hinata quickly walked away from Kageyama, feeling his burning gaze on his back. That wasn’t the reason why his heart beat vigorously against his rib cage though. 

“You okay, Hinata?” Sugawara asked, handing him a water bottle. Apparently, Takeda had called for a time out after the silver haired setter’s insistence. Sugawara watched as Hinata blushed prettily, gaze flickering down to the shiny gym floor. Hinata swept the last of the water drops from his lips before turning back to Sugawara. A determined gaze replaced his conflicted frown.

“I”m fine! Thanks, Sugamama!” Hinata chirped, hopping into place almost anxiously. He beamed, “Now, let’s go kick some Seijou butt!” Sugawara blinked. He watched as Hinata charged into the “battle field” with a war cry much like their rambunctious guardian’s before shaking his head fondly. Whatever happened between Hinata and Kageyama must have stirred something wild within the crow child, for his agitated steps grew higher and higher away from the ground. It was as if Hinata was about to sprout wings and fly away if not grounded by the prospect of playing volleyball against Aoba Jousai.

Speaking of Aoba Jousai… Sugawara smiled secretly to himself, noticing the way a certain black haired ace’s eyes darted sharply across the court to the Karasuno teammates before softly gazing at a certain decoy. Sugawara giggled, feeling like a real mother who found out her baby had a cute crush. Daich shot him a curious look, but Sugawara nudged his head to the right to indicate that they would chat later. 

Meanwhile, Hinata stared across the volleyball net. He ignored the insistent gaze from his boyfriend, who he knew wanted to sweep him up like a Disney princess movie and plant kisses all across his face. The bathroom incident left all parties wanting more, wanting the taste of irresistible love and the temptation of warmth. 

The orange haired male wondered exactly where Oikawa was, even when the final match between the two schools commenced once more and Hinata launched himself up into the perfected freak quick he and Kageyama practiced on. When his eyes met Iwaizumi’s after their team point, Hinata flushed at the dark way the raven haired male’s orbs flew down his body. He was being almost dissected in Iwaizumi’s eyes, and Hinata remembered exactly why he never underestimated the ace. It was a given for Oikawa’s analyzing skills as a leader, but Iwaizumi was still much more scheming than he let on. 

It was time when they were only one last point until Karasuno won. Hinata gulped; sweat rolled down his cheeks as he ran the back of his hand across his forehead. Apprehension filled him, especially when the tell tale sign of Oikawa returning filled his ears in the form of excited female squeals from the stands. The brunette shot a friendly smile to his cheering fans, eliciting louder screams as they wished him luck.

Hinata barely heard Tanaka inquire who exactly the captain was for his pounding heart nestled into his ear drums. He gulped, knowing full well that with Oikawa now in the game, Karasuno would have a harder chance at winning, one point or not. Kageyama knew as well. 

The raven haired male grew wary as he shifted. “Oikawa-san is an incredible setter. I learned most of my serves from him.” 

“Whoa.” Tanaka stated in begrudging awe. 

“And his personality is terrible.” Kageyama said in complete seriousness. Hinata muffled a snicker. 

“You shouldn’t be talking, Bakageyama.” He teased, laughing behind his fingers as he ducked immediately after. Kageyama’s hands shot out to strangle him but Hinata became accustomed to the frequent attacks and dodged nimbly to the side. 

“His personality can’t be as bad as Tsukki’s.” Tanaka commented, chortling loudly when Tsukishima glared at their small group after gulping down his water bottle. Hinata laughed again, wrestling playfully with Kageyama who managed to grab at him with murderous intent. 

“Oi! Stop that!” Daichi hissed at the trio. Tanaka instantly jogged away to his own position while the rest of them followed his example. The whistle for the start of the game bounced across the vast gym and Hinata instantly paled. Oikawa was the pinch server, and judging by his confident smirk, his serve would no doubt allow Aoba Jousai to easily catch up to Karasuno after two turns. Beside him, Kageyama hunched his shoulders tensely.

Oikawa jumped. Hinata’s eyes widened as the volleyball flashed across the court and hit Tsukishima in the crook of his elbow. The force of the impact caused the ball to ricochet off of the blond and narrowly miss two bystanders who flinched away from the highest bench. Karasuno was completely silent. Above them, the fans of the prestigious school roared with enthusiasm.

“As I thought. You, number six and you, number five.” The captain pointed at both Tsukishima and Hinata at the back of the court. Hinata jumped; he didn’t expect his boyfriend to suddenly call him out like that and he glared at Oikawa’s smug smile. 

“You’re first years, aren’t you?” Hinata wanted to laugh at the innocent question. Of course Oikawa would know this information; he was  _ Oikawa.  _ The short male placed a hand on his hip, his eyes catching how Oikawa kept returning his gaze back to him when no one else was looking.

“Okay, one more.” The brunette announced, flipping around dramatically after walking back to his post as pinch server. Without further words, the model like male lept up again to deliver another fast and powerful ball to Tsukishima that the blond couldn’t receive either. Oikawa floated back down with a vicious smile. 

“Hey! Grand King, serve to me! I can take it, just give the ball to me!” Hinata hollered, pretending to throw a temper tantrum that irritated Tsukishima enough to call him out for it. The feisty decoy grumbled at Tsukishima’s annoyed “shut up” before pointing at him. He felt all eyes from his team land on him (including his boyfriends’ gazes as well) as he jumped closer into his teammate’s personal space. To his utter surprise, the blond didn’t punch him or flinch away like he expected. 

Hinata continued, “Listen! In volleyball, anyone on this side of the net is your comrade!” He recalled his older teammate saying something along the lines of that and his answer was confirmed when Tanaka’s eyes sparkled and he yelped out a gleeful agreement. Hinata smiled afterwards to Tsukishima, nearly stopping the poor male’s heart as he turned around to face their enemy. 

“You don’t want to lose to the Grand King, do you,  _ Tsukki _ ?” Hinata’s long eyelashes fluttered darkly before he stepped away to his position to the left of the astonished blond. His team grew dazed at the almost  _ flirty  _ tone of their most innocent looking child. Sugawara nearly passed out. 

Daichi cleared his throat, snapping his team members out of their shock. “Anyway, we’ll center our defense around me in the middle.” He ended his game plan without another word in order to stand in the direct middle with the five other players scattered to the sidelines. That way, Oikawa would have a more difficult time trying to aim at the first years.

However, Oikawa’s skill was fully realized when he still managed to aim right at Tsukishima with precision that showed his talent in an elite school versus theirs in a much smaller school. Due to his targeted serve at Tsukishima, however, he lost most of his power so that the tall blocker was able to receive the volleyball perfectly. The ball went straight up before straying over to the opponent’s side with a triumphant Oikawa serving it to Kindaichi.

Hinata dashed after a confident Kindaichi, who grew shocked as he noticed the shorter male following after his steps with a cheetah like pace. The volleyball skimmed against Hinata’s fingertips as Kindaichi shot out his arm to spike the ball. Hinata landed back down on his feet, his sneakers squeaking loudly against the gym floor as he flew across the court and flew up off the ground. 

Kageyama set the ball high enough for him to reach and Hinata zoned in on Oikawa’s form. With a beast like intensity, Hinata caught his boyfriend’s eye and curved the ball over to Oikawa. The volleyball swished across Oikawa’s styled chestnut locks and thudded harshly onto the ground behind him. 

As Hinata became a human once more, he lifted up his body and panted heavily. The short male stood up straight, puffs of air streaming out of his glossy lips and the same animalistic gleam in his eye as he determinedly stared at his opponents. The whistle blew off in Karasuno’s favor and the crowd went wild. Karasuno, a barely known school from the countryside, just won against a rich elite school known for cultivating talent. The coaches were in shock. 

“Nice spike, Hinata!” Sugawara greeted the tiny crow as the team members greedily gulped down water. Hinata beamed at the older male, setting down the water bottle after letting loose a satisfied sound of “ah”. 

“Thanks, Suga-san!” Hinata ran his fingers through his sunset curls. He turned back around to the net when feeling a heated gaze on his back. The rest of his team was packing up as Hinata sped to the hallway, his lame excuse of having to go to the bathroom once more being spared. He knew the familiar gesture from his boyfriends so he instantly sprinted out of the gym in order to eagerly meet them. 

As he rounded the corner to the bathrooms, a hand shot out and grabbed his arm. He stumbled clumsily, nearly face planting onto the floor had the arm not steadied him. Before he could fully stand up, his back was slammed against the wall and Hinata was met with a pair of dark amber eyes. He gulped, a spike of adrenaline from the previous game poisoning his veins and puffing into his lungs. 

“Oika--” He didn’t finish his sentence for he was silenced by the smoldering heat in Oikawa’s eyes and a pair of chapped lips descending onto his own. He made a small squeak from the sudden attack but became goo in the older’s more experienced hands that trailed down his shoulders like a velvet cape. Hinata cupped Oikawa’s cheeks sweetly, his mind forgetting the time and place they were at as the brunette pressed his sweaty body closer to Hinata (not that he minded). They didn’t pull away until a loud clearing of a throat filled their ears and they separated with a wet smack of their lips. Hinata dazedly stared over to the newcomer, finally noticing his other boyfriend leaning his side against the wall next to the duo. 

“I saw what happened with Tobio.” Oikawa’s words caused Hinata to glance back over to his other boyfriend. He nearly regretted the action for the heat in the chocolate eyes that usually held warmth made his stomach flip and tangle itself with his other organs. He shyly gazed up at the taller male as Oikawa ducked back down to press kisses all over his face. 

“And I saw how you hit him with a volleyball on purpose.” Hinata’s breath hitched. “That was so  _ hot _ , chibi-chan.” The brown eyed male whispered huskily into Hinata’s reddening ear. He finished his sentence with a nibble of the younger male’s ear, eagerly dipping back down to capture the sweet noises from Hinata’s pliant lips. Hinata moaned lightly, digging his fingertips into Oikawa’s perfect hair and tousling it with each strong grip. 

He blearily opened his eyes when the heat surrounding him faded into dust and the slight chill from powerful winds entered his space. Oikawa was ripped away from him but replaced with his other boyfriend, who sweetly trailed a finger down Hinata’s face. Unlike the tallest male, Iwaizumi was gentle and loving whilst Oikawa at that moment turned out to be dangerously hot and feral. Hinata shuddered lightly in remembrance, allowing himself to be lost in the soothing breeze from Iwaizumi and the radiating warmth from Oikawa who lightly pecked the raven haired male.

“I should probably go back.” Hinata whispered. Both of his hands cupped Iwaizumi’s face as he rubbed noses with the wing spiker. Oikawa whined, Iwaizumi backing up his protest with a quiet groan of his own. The orange haired boy softly giggled at their clinginess; he felt loved and cherished with the way they gazed at him and only him.

“Another minute.” Iwaizumi silently begged. Oikawa nodded almost excitedly, his long eyelashes fluttering down in an attempt at temptation. Hinata huffed. And people called  _ him  _ a child. Obviously they’ve never met his boyfriends before. He agreed for their sake and not because he wanted to escape Kageyama’s possible wrath or anything.

“Okay, I really need to go.” Iwaizumi’s hold on him tightened. “Guys!” Hinata shrieked in delight when the raven haired male nuzzled at his ticklish neck and exhaled. 

“Sho-chan’s right, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa sighed, strangely more responsible than his counterparts. Iwaizumi hesitantly let Hinata go, an upset frown planted on his lips. Hinata kissed away the pout and planted another kiss on Iwaizui’s blossoming pink cheek.

He bit his lip. “Maybe we can meet up this weekend?” At the idea of seeing their lovable boyfriend again, both boys lit up in different ways. Iwaizumi’s eyes sparkled and he smiled crookedly while Oikawa beamed at the shortest member of their group.

“That would be great.” Iwaizumi voiced aloud as he pulled Hinata into one last hug before they were forced to revert back to their usual selves. With one arm, the raven haired male dragged Oikawa into the hug as well and the three revelled in the familiar heat from each of their bodies.

Hinata sighed longingly. He would surely miss them when he returned back to Miyagi.

“I’ll miss you two. Text me, okay?” Hinata practically demanded, the other two nodding with identical grins. 

“Of course, Sho-chan.” Oikawa promised sincerely.

“Don’t count on Shittykawa.” Iwaizumi snorted teasingly. “I’ll definitely call you and we can meet up without him.” Hinata giggled, flushing at Iwaizumi’s non subtle wink and the following whine from the setter.

“Love you.” Hinata pecked them both on their cheeks before waving to them. He dashed away from the bathrooms, calling out goodbyes to them as he ran to the gym before his teammates left without him. 

Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi, a shit eating grin on his lips. “You’re so whipped, Iwa-chan.” Iwaizumi colored. He punched Oikawa straight in the gut with a deep growl.

“Shut up, Asskawa, before I make you.” He threatened. Unfortunately, his threat soared past Oikawa’s head like a shooting star and Iwaizumi dug his fingers into Oikawa’s collar of his volleyball uniform. 

“Make me.” Oikawa muttered lowly. Iwaizumi growled again. He did. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nekoma is next aaah i can't wait
> 
> (hmu if ur going to anime expo @ los angeles btw!! )


	4. The Return of Two Pining Idiots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More filler? In this fic? It's more likely than you think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cant believe it took me legit two years to publish this stupid chapter ive had saved in my files for the same amount of time :/// 
> 
> also cant believe that the first thing i update is more filler lmao sorry yall nekoma is next chapter (and idk when that will be out but i have part of it done) also in other news i still have no idea what im doing or where this fic is going but at least im so far behind that by the time this fic is halfway done the manga will already be over and i can slowly update without worrying about having to predict who will win in the current manga lol
> 
> enjoy?

 

 

 

There was no doubt that Hinata Shouyou would be a starter. He was perfect for the role with his high energy, seemingly endless stamina, motivational aura, and an animalistic ferociousness shrouding him in a foggy mist at times. But, even with an inspirational player such as the small orange head (who would no doubt rise above the ranks of the common volleyball player), one could not truly beat another team by sheer power, talent, or will alone: volleyball was a team sport for a reason. 

Simply put, Takeda understood that in order for the rest of the team to grow stronger, they needed a real coach. He barely even knew the rules for the sport and only recently began studying the different positions and each position’s advantage. Regardless, as much effort as he exuded towards helping his team, he knew one thing for certain: only a real coach would be able to help them before Interhigh. 

And fortunately for him, a particular person fit the description perfectly. A little too perfectly, in his humble opinion, but he didn’t mind bowing down to his feet and shamelessly begging on his knees to ensure his team would gain this man as their coach. He’d lived his small life using his childish baby face as a way to lower other people’s guards; if his manipulation skills through his young face didn’t work, he could always just bow--most people feel too guilty and embarrassed to refuse anyway. 

After copious amounts of audacious pleading, he managed to not only snag an infamous Ukai but also convinced Nekoma’s wise coach to accept a practice match between his baby crows and the sly cats. 

Takeda sighed fondly, staring out the window almost nostalgically. He cared for the volleyball team since the day Daichi, Sugawara, and Asahi asked him to become their advisor. Despite the team’s former glory transforming into a far away whisper of the bright past, the trio was still as optimistic and hardworking as ever. He admired their firm resolution and soon grew to become quite affectionate towards the struggling team. 

The teacher smiled as he stretched languidly against his desk. Beside him, one of the teachers tenaciously gripped onto her grading pen to the point of snapping the poor object in half. She quirked a curious eyebrow at his easygoing grin, despite the massive growing pile of papers stacked carefully on Takeda’s desk. 

“Is grading really that fun, Mr. Takeda?” The female wryly questions as she pauses in her furious scribbling. Takeda hums joyfully, a mysterious smile crawling on his face at her harmless inquiry. He turns back to his own papers, the dull black lettering contrasting to the yellow sunshine in his mirth tinted glasses. 

“I suppose.” She snorts at his dubious answer, but otherwise doesn’t press him anymore. Returning to his own paperwork, Takeda can’t stop the grin itching on his face. He thinks of a certain faux blond smoker who will visit this afternoon and of the reactions from the students (from his own children, his mind supplies, and the teacher across from him shakes her head at the goofy smile and chuckle spilling from her fellow coworker’s mouth). 

“Good luck, Takeda.” His coworker encourages blandly. Takeda practically beams at her. 

“Thank you!” 

  
  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  
  


Hinata skipped past his bewildered, yet amused classmates all the way to his seat. He’s not usually too chipper about the complicated algebra equations from his math class, but the class can easily assume that he’s either excited about volleyball (they laugh quietly to each other at remembering how he practically  _ peed  _ himself when the teacher called him out on his twitchy body the day of the Aoba Jousai and Karasuno match) or that something equally as amazing as his favorite sport was about to happen (or already happened). 

“Shouyou! What’s got you so excited?” Shinji--who sits in front of Hinata--asks. He laughs at Hinata’s large, toothy grin. Hinata opens his mouth, clearly about to gossip about the amazing time he experienced with his Aoba Jousai boyfriends, but snaps his mouth close in horror at his carelessness. He nearly outed himself in front of his curious classmates! 

“Uh,” he nervously says, “I-I’m just excited for volleyball! Hahaha…” He dodges Shinji’s confused stare and hopes he doesn’t sound too forced. Judging by Shinji’s unimpressed look, Hinata did an awfully good job at screwing up. 

“Okay, man.” Shinji shrugs. Hinata’s too easy to read, but hounding for answers would make it seem like Shinji was bullying Hinata. And from the rumors he’s heard from his fellow classmates, Hinata’s team is not only as vicious as starving vultures, but also super protective of their own kind. He’s not about to be murdered by a volleyball, thanks. 

Hinata exhales in relief, his sunny smile reappearing on his face and lighting up the room with sunshine. Everyone’s a little smitten with the sunshine child; needless to say, if anyone were to even think of bullying Hinata, the thought would be banished once they laid eyes on his innocent, tiny self. 

Time passes in a blur of droning words from his teachers and Hinata daydreaming of volleyball matches between himself and his other lovers. Iwaizumi and Oikawa aren’t the only ones dating Hinata, and Hinata is not about to delve further into his “complicated” relationships with other “enemy” volleyball players in the middle of class either. Still, he sighs fondly in remembrance of the embraces from different sized boyfriends/lovers and of the pretty memories painting a landscape of colorful images.

Finally,  _ finally  _ Hinata is able to escape the classroom before everyone slowly shuffles out of the door in a large mass of crowd. He doesn’t waste another second in dashing out of the class with his slightly unzipped backpack quickly thrown over his shoulder. Hinata arrives at the club room in under two minutes flat with Kageyama panting behind him. 

“I win!” He crows in victory and runs over to his locker to begin changing. Kageyama glares at him, but follows with calmer steps. Behind the freak duo, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi trickle in casually without breaking a single sweat like the previous two did. Tsukishima snorts as his own unique greeting while Yamaguchi snickers beside him. 

Sugawara, who’s already changed into his practice clothes waves at the first years with a benevolent smile. “Hello, everyone. How was your day at school?” Hinata jumps up first, his shirt on backwards and his shorts halfway on. He tugs his pants all the way up and Sugawara doesn’t miss the lingering eyes drawn to his pert butt. Sugawara snickers inwardly and files away that little bit of information to inform the captain. 

“It was okay….” Hinata scrunched up his nose at the thought of the homework piling up in his backpack before shaking the thoughts away like a dog shaking water off its body. “I’m super excited to play volleyball now, though!” 

“Volleyball’s the only thing you’re really good at, idiot. Even so, you’re not a genius like the king either.” Tsukishima mutters loudly enough for the room to hear. Yamaguchi elbows him lightly in the side; however, a tiny smile plants on his face as a tiny seedling that would eventually bloom into a larger grin. Kageyama glares at the blond (only because Tsukishima is also indirectly mocking him as well, he reminds himself). 

To everyone’s surprise, Hinata just shrugs and pulls off his shirt. He rearranges the article of clothing--all while being gawked at for his shockingly muscular body--to be on correctly before propping a hand on his hip. He’s still roughly beautiful like a golden lion, a flutter of his eyelashes akin to a hummingbird’s heartbeat. 

“I know. I’m going to become stronger at volleyball, you know.” He idly comments, as if he’s not ensnaring these young hormonal teenage boys with the jut of his slender hips (Kageyama  _ reddens _ ) and the coyness of his bright caramel eyes. Tsukishima begrudgingly admits that Hinata’s “feral” side is not to be reckoned with; from his past experiences, it’s better to not provoke the beast further if he doesn’t want his head bitten cleanly off. 

“Besides,” his words slice through the air despite being spoken nonchalantly, “it’s not fun if there isn’t a challenge.” Hinata’s eyes darken, hooded with a dangerous gleam that’s not supposed to look utterly  _ sexy  _ on a tiny gremlin like Hinata, but Hinata was always an outlier for everything. When Hinata’s eyes pin each and everyone of the first years (and Sugawara  _ swears  _ that the trio falls a little more in love with the orange haired boy) with his challenging eyes, the three of them shiver. Sugawara covers a sly grin behind his mouth and doesn’t laugh until he’s out of the club room and buried in a confused Daichi’s jacket.

Unconsciously, Hinata’s offered a little bait towards the three predators and now that he’s shown them a little bit of temptation and passion, the first years are more fired up than ever. Each of them strive to work harder in order to stand by the real king of the court as an equal. And unknowingly, Hinata managed to capture more hearts as well as light a flaming desire within his teammates. 

Sugawara smiled mischievously. The little crow who seemed innocent enough turned out to be a bit more promiscuous, unconsciously or not. He isn’t wrong in his prediction of how interesting the year would be. 

  
  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  
  


Hinata never meant to meet Nishinoya Yuu this way. One moment the volleyball player had been practicing spikes by himself as a warm-up--that stingy Kageyama wouldn’t budge no matter how much he pleaded with a quivering lower lip--and the next, a smaller male with wild spiked up locks in dual colors shot out of the air like a reincarnated lightning god to receive one of his more powerful spikes. Hinata could only gape as the shorter man stood up to his full height after slinging his jacket behind his back. 

“Whoa!” Hinata exclaimed in wonder. His spike had been a bit more powerful than usual--the red lingering on his palms was a sure indication--and this random stranger not only managed to receive it but also received the ball  _ perfectly.  _ Hinata’s eyes shone with beige stars in the middle of a caramel galaxy as he stumbled over to the other. 

“That was an amazing receive! You’re so talented, whoa!” Hinata shamelessly praised. The man preened under his compliments and grinned toothily. He instantly reminded the taller boy of his senpai, Tanaka, with the way they both cockily and ferociously grinned. 

“Thanks! Your spike is not bad either, kiddo! I’m Nishinoya Yuu, a second year.” Hinata remembers the captain praising a certain libero as the “guardian deity of Karasuno” or some high regard like that. He assumes Daichi is talking about this Nishinoya, who’s warm and friendly, but also strongly loyal and protective. 

“Ah, you’re the guardian deity captain was talking about!” Hinata eyes Nishinoya in confusion when the spiky haired man clutches at his chest like he’s been struck by Cupid’s arrow. “Nishinoya-senpai? Are you okay?” He worriedly asks, unaware of the sudden, early mid life crisis Nishinoya is feeling at that very moment. 

“Kiddo…” 

“I’m Hinata Shouyou!” 

“Shouyou… You’re a good kid.” Nishinoya pats Hinata’s shoulder--and are those  _ tears  _ spilling from Nishinoya’s eyes? Hinata’s about to offer a hug (his boyfriends and family members always said he gave the best ones!) to help the other feel better, but Nishinoya recovers easily and begins to laugh boisterously. 

“That’s right, I’m a senpai! And as your worthy senpai, I’ll treat you to a popsicle!” Nishinoya offers; Hinata imagines a rapidly wagging dog tail behind Nishinoya with how happy the other man is. 

“Thanks, senpai!” He’s not about to deny free food, though he’s a little confused with how Nishinoya’s emotions work. They’re frighteningly similar to Tanaka’s mood swings, but that only confirms the fact that Nishinoya is definitely the libero the older teammates mentioned a few times in passing. But, this is only one of the mighty players from the volleyball team. 

“Nishinoya-senpai?” He stops Nishinoya’s never ending laughter. “Do you know who the ace is? I heard Tanaka-senpai and Suga-san and Daichi-san talk about him, but I’ve never seen him or you near the gym.” He doesn’t add the little bit of information about knowing of Nishinoya’s suspension as a precaution. He’s dealt with two of his boyfriends in a depressed state (which made  _ death  _ look like a mere walk in the park) and he’s not keen to find out how Nishinoya would act once Hinata walked into a sensitive topic landmine.

Immediately, the once lively libero standing in front of him dampened his spirits, his shoulder sagging as a grim expression crosses his face. Nishinoya frowns deeply; Hinata recognizes regret and sorrow as the prominent emotions flitting around his face in different intervals. His mind wanders to his first loss against Kageyama; he knows those feelings all too well.

“Our ace is a good for nothing coward.” Nishinoya bitterly replies, his eyes shining with unexplainable pain and unshed tears. He stares up at Hinata with almost desperate eyes. Desperate is good; desperate means there’s still a chance for Nishinoya unlike forfeiting and giving up all hope. At the very least, Hinata knows that Nishinoya does not hate volleyball, so there’s a likely possibility that Nishinoya would be willing to rejoin the team as long as the problem between him and the ace is solved.

“You don’t mean that.” Hinata owlishly blinks, his blunt statement shocking Nishinoya into a surprised gape. Hinata pressed on, “You’re actually really regretting fighting with the ace, right? He must be your best friend and you guys got into a fight one day over volleyball.” Hinata guesses. Nishinoya’s still slack jawed, his eyes rapidly searching through Hinata’s own orbs.

“H-How did you--” 

“I’m not trying to pressure you into playing volleyball again, though!” He quickly clarifies. “Even if that would be really really cool! And I think we’re having a huge match again soon because Mr. Takeda introduced us to Coach Ukai--”

“ _ Ukai?! _ ” 

“--and we’re training really hard and stuff! I’m also training really hard to be ace!” He puffed out his chest in pride, “I’m trying really hard because I love volleyball and the feeling of spiking a really good ball and winning a point!” Nishinoya’s heart clangs noisily in his chest. He understands the younger male’s enthusiasm towards the sport and he can clearly picture himself diving forward to receive a ball--then, his heart began to race as the last match vividly replayed in his head like a slap to his face.

“The point is,” Hinata continues, unperturbed, “you still really like volleyball, but something is holding you back! But, Tanaka-senpai always says that volleyball isn’t a one man team! We all work hard together, win together, and lose together! Things happen, but we have to move on forward to grow. That’s what my boyfriends always say.” Whoops. Hinata clamps his hand over his mouth at the last part. Luckily, Nishinoya seems to be in his own world as he mumbles Hinata’s words over again. 

Hinata catches a jerky motion behind Nishinoya and finds a glaring Tanaka with a smiling Sugawara hiding in a large bush. Hinata partly wants to know, but decides that he should just go with the excuse that his older teammates are a weird bunch of people. 

“Ah, I need to practice volleyball! If you don’t want to join, that’s okay! Just promise to come watch me, Nishinoya-senpai!” Hinata waves a quick farewell before jogging over to the bushes, leaving behind a stunned, thoughtful Nishinoya.

“Hinata!” Tanaka hissed as soon as the orange haired boy was close enough to hear him. He dragged the smaller boy into the bush with a frantic urgency. Hinata tipped his head to one side in confusion as Tanaka loudly whispered about the taboo topic with Nishinoya. Apparently, Nishinoya’s falling out with Asahi really hit the duo hard (and Tanaka also hinted at their mounted up emotions/tension--whatever that meant). 

“Tanaka.” Sugawara firmly reminded the bald headed male. He placed a reassuring hand on top of Tanaka’s shoulder, resulting in Tanaka deflating like a balloon with punctured holes. 

“What did Nishinoya say, Hinata?” Sugawara patiently asked. Hinata pursed his lips in silent musing before brightening up. 

“He’s buying me a popsicle!” Tanaka rolled his eyes with a smirk while Sugawara giggled. 

“Other than that?” 

“Uh,” Hinata bit his lip, “something about the ace being a coward?” His teammates’ eyes widened before significantly darkening with the shadows dancing intricately across their steely faces. Hinata gulped. Obviously the event that occurred between the two ended up destroying the bonds between the team. 

“Did something happen between the ace and Nishinoya-senpai?” Hinata cautiously questioned. He was trekking on dangerous waters, but all he wanted was for the team’s bonds to strengthen and for the team to become stronger. He never had a real team, but now that he was a part of one, Hinata would stop at nothing to ensure that his new family would be happy and confident. 

“They both had an argument. It was no one’s fault, really.” Sugawara’s motionless arms hanging to his side remained still. The only sign of the chaos within his mind was his balled up fists with paper white knuckles digging into the soft material of his pants. Tanaka found a sudden interest in the floor, his grit teeth mashing together in silent fury. 

“But, in the end, we all started blaming ourselves for losing a match.” Sugawara helplessly shrugged. “We were pretty weak, but the loss really tore the team apart.” 

The silver haired setter still remembered the incident well: the ball dropping to the ground, the cheering of the winning team, the tears streaming down his face as “what ifs” rushed through his head like a waterfall. Shortly after, Nishinoya fought with the ace with the broom as the aftermath of their destructive argument. The broken broom still remained tucked away in the gym storage room, a solid reminder of the bonds severed during that painful time.

“Ah, but that’s part of the past, right?” Hinata asked, almost absentmindedly. “I mean, it hurts to lose. A lot.” His own orbs clouded over with inexplicable anguish. 

“But, we learn from our mistakes. We become stronger and we continue to grow so that next time, we’ll definitely win!” His fist tightened as he gazed at his two older teammates with wise, determined milk chocolate orbs. His words left a sweet aftertaste in Tanaka and Sugawara’s mouths, yet they still hungered for the truth within his voice. They already knew the answer deep down in their hearts, but it was refreshing to hear it spoken aloud in such bright clarity. 

“I’m going to go talk to Asahi-san! I’m sure he doesn’t hate volleyball! Ah, but self practice is probably already over, so we should go back to the gym! Ah! I need to beat Bakageyama! See you, senpais!” Hinata yelped out the trainwreck of his inner thoughts. He picked up his stray volleyball resting near his feet before bounding away to the gym in a speedy manner. Tanaka and Sugawara blinked before following him in a light jog, their eyes gleaming with respect and their own resolve. 

“We shouldn’t be beaten by some first year, Suga!” Tanaka grinned sharply. Sugawara hummed, the calm in his voice nothing but a simple facade for his calculating mind. 

“You’re right, Tanaka. We should be the reliable senpai for the first years!” Sugawara smiled, almost proudly at the baby crow’s words. The orange haired boy was slowly changing each team member with his charismatic nature. He could easily see why and how people were rapidly falling at Hinata’s feet. 

Like the sun, Hinata captivated people with his infectious rays and his warm personality---they flocked to him and, even worse,  _ stayed  _ to bask beneath his rule. It frightened Sugawara a little with how influential Hinata truly was and the amount of people following under his rule. 

Life only flourished under sunlight, after all.

  
  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  
  


Hinata kept true to his promise: he sought out Asahi. The tall, intimidating man was effortless to find; everyone knew about the rumored Azumane Asahi who apparently was supposed to graduate  _ five _ years ago and was an esteemed dope selling gang member--in short, a troublemaker who was held back in school due to bad behavior. 

Admittedly, Hinata initially believed in those rumors once he met with Asahi. The brunette’s long wavy hair tucked back in a messy bun and scraggly goatee on his face gave Hinata the impression of an older college student. Combined with his large stature, muscled biceps, and sharp coffee eyes, Asahi fit the description of his rumors seamlessly.

“Don’t scare the first year too much, Azumane!” One of the older man’s classmates piped up, a teasing grin stretched across his cheeks. Asahi jolted at the loud yell, a weak glare thrown back at his snickering companion. Hinata tensed a little less at the playful banter (mainly one-sided) between Asahi and the other third year. 

“Asahi-san! I’m Hinata Shouyou: first year in the volleyball club! I’m training to become the ace!” Hinata proudly introduced himself. Asahi nodded his head, albeit a little suspiciously as Hinata continued to ramble on about how much fun he was having in volleyball, etc. 

“Did Sugawara or Daichi tell you to do this?” Asahi interjected once Hinata ran out of breath and paused. Hinata cocked his head to one side like a tiny puppy.

“No? Why would they do that?” He was thoroughly confused. Perhaps Asahi suspected that they desperately wanted (read: needed) him back? Well,  _ obviously,  _ but maybe Asahi thought they were resorting to desperate measures in sending a new freshman recruit to persuade him to return to the volleyball team. 

Asahi looked at least a little more relieved. He smiled shyly to the smaller boy, thinking of how adorable Hinata appeared, like a soft pomeranian pup. He wondered why such a tiny boy was playing for the ace position, but didn’t question it aloud either. From his past experiences with shorter people, telling them they couldn’t do specific tasks because of their height would land him in a hospital. Just in case, the older male swerved his head side to side as if a certain short libero was lurking around.

When unable to locate a spiky haired second year, Asahi sighed in relief and turned back to a confused Hinata. “Ah, I was just looking for someone!” He floundered a bit, arms flailing like a fish on dry land attempting to return to its home. 

A keen glint in Hinata’s eyes sparkled like a glistening rain drop. “You’re looking for Nishinoya-senpai.” Ah. That definitely struck a nerve. The upturned lips on Asahi’s dark face drooped a little, losing the luster from before. He definitely did  _ not  _ expect to be dissected by a more observant than meets the eye ginger, who--mind you--was slightly taller than Nishinoya.

At the thought of his beloved partner, Asahi deflated further. He sighed. There was no point in lying to an sharp-eyed Hinata at this point, especially when he was so easily read. A part of him admired the confidence overflowing from the younger man, so unlike himself, yet he also wondered of the obvious mysteries behind Hinata. 

“Yes.” He admitted. “We didn’t exactly have the friendliest conversation last time. A lot of... _ things  _ happened in the club, and a lot of  _ things  _ were said.”  _ Things I regret,  _ he thought in remorse. Hinata did not blink. He watched, an uncanny, inexpressible gleam in his eyes that reflected Asahi’s mirage.

“Suga-san hasn’t really said much. And I don’t know exactly what’s happened. But,” here, his eyes practically  _ glowed  _ in a surreal way that Asahi never imagined to be possible, “I know one thing for sure: in volleyball, we win and lose together. There’s no “just one person” in a team.” 

Asahi gulped. He knew that, he truly did. But, flashbacks of an iron wall stood tall in front of his eyes. The volleyball zooming down to the ground in slow motion, the absolutely hopeless feeling surging up from his anxious stomach, the yells from the bleachers of his companions, worn out, but still hoping--all of that and  _ more  _ served as a bitter, brutal memory of loss, regret, and hopelessness. 

“Your team members are there for a reason. And more than just the team, they’re your  _ friends.  _ They’re supposed to always be there for you when you’re feeling down and hopeless. But, they can’t help if you keep avoiding them.” Hinata softened his voice, like birds chirping after a raging thunderstorm. Asahi was torn: one side of him wrenched from guilt while the other side yearned for his companions, his teammates. 

“Like someone I know always says, ‘I believe in all of you’. Believe in your friends, Asahi-san. Believe in your  _ team.”  _ His voice crept to a solemn tone, his own pain flitting across his eyes as wind would sweep his hair away. 

He was  _ the  _ thunderstorm in the moment, completely unpredictable with lightning in his words; as small as he was, he was  _ invincible  _ in that moment, and Asahi had no doubt that he would surely be surpassed by someone as cognitive as Hinata. In some ways, he wouldn’t mind having Hinata become the ace. The clenching in his heart told him otherwise, however.

“Oi, Hinata! Lunch is over!” Someone, presumably a friend or classmate close to Hinata, yelped from the end of the hallway. Hinata breathed out slowly, his mature attitude flowing back out of him. He was once again known as the tiny shrimp of Karasuno, a young dreamer who gazed at the stars but saw past them. 

“Thanks for talking to me, Asahi-san!” He bowed deeply, eliciting a splutter from Asahi who practically begged him to rise up again. There were enough rumors spawning around him anyway. No need to spur them on when they found out a younger freshman seemed to be attempting to join his make believe gang. 

“Well, I’m off! I can’t be late to class or I’ll be held back again!” He wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Then, I’ll be late to volleyball club and I won’t get better! We’re working a lot harder, you know! And now we have a cool setter like Kageyama--don’t tell him that--and a  _ super  _ tall blocker and me, the next ace!” Hinata excitedly ranted, unintentionally striking a nerve in Asahi. He continued, unknowing of the pain his upperclassman felt at the moment nor of the consequences of his actions. 

“We went up against Aoba Jousai and won! But, that’s just the beginning!” Hinata flattened, his hair drooping with him. “But, we don’t have a lot of defense…” His face grew determined as he spoke, however, and Asahi wasn’t supposed to feel almost hopeful of his future in volleyball. Karasuno was growing. Karasuno hadn’t given up yet. 

“I’ll do my best! Please come to a match when we have one, Asahi-san!” A knowing gleam appeared in his chocolate orbs. “You’ll see the new and improved Karasuno for sure!” A pang resounded in Asahi’s heart; the holes never truly patched up so he could practically feel the frustrated tears emerging from his wounded soul. 

“...I’ll think about it.” He quietly said, eyes downcast. Hinata whooped, babbling a little more until someone with glasses impatiently strode over. They bowed to Asahi once before dragging their troublesome friend away, reprimanding the short male for ignoring the time and causing them to be late in order to drag Hinata back to class. Asahi stood there for a while, thoughts more jumbled than when he studied history before one of his own classmates sought him out. He nodded, snuck one last peek behind his shoulder for any short people, then slid the classroom door shut behind him. 

“What are you grinning about?” Hinata’s classmate irritatedly asked. Hinata just smiled secretly, his heart thrumming in excitement. He just met the ace of the team  _ and  _ declared to become the next ace! Hinata was completely absorbed in the world of volleyball, and he would continue to be until the bell rang for school to be over. 

He wasn’t the only one with invading thoughts. 

  
  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  
  


“Hello, everyone. I have some important news to announce.” Takeda gathered up the volleyball players with a sweep of his papers. He looked ragged and a little too much like an exhausted college student than a literature teacher, but the triumphant grin on his face bypassed his whole outer appearance. 

Daichi warily looked at the club advisor, wondering what Takeda managed to pull off and how much kowtowing, bowing, begging phone calls, and other desperate measures the teacher had to resort to in order to aid them. He was grateful--as everyone else was--as ever, but he didn’t feel comfort with the knowledge of the degrading actions Takeda took for the team. 

“You didn’t bow again, did you, teacher?” Sugawara seemed to be on board with Daichi’s thoughts. They watched Takeda closely, noticing the slight flinch from his body before he masked it with a more confident pose: back straight and shoulders set back. 

“Just a little,” he shrugged, “but nothing too much!” Takeda quickly amended when the volleyball club--primarily Daichi and Sugawara--fixed him with a concerned, guilty look. Takeda fixed his glasses with a push of his pointer finger before speaking again. The team leaned in curiously. 

“I managed to find you guys a proper coach!” He announced happily, the confident smile crawling back onto his face. The team collectively widened their eyes (except for two standoffish members) at the news before one loud, “WHAT?!” bounced across the gym walls. Takeda nodded, fumbling with a stack of papers and a worn, paperback edition of a guide to volleyball. 

“His name is Ukai and he’s going to be here this afternoon! He’s the grandson of the infamous Ukai coach who led Karasuno to victory two years ago!” Takeda explained; his smiled widened when the rest of the team whispered enthusiastically to one another, a sort of parental pride rushing through his tired system. Bowing and pleading was worth it for these kids, and Takeda did not mind in the slightest in helping them train to restore Karasuno’s former glory. He believed they could do it and a deep connection between him and these students formed when they first sought out his help. 

“That’s amazing, sensei!” Tanaka exclaimed, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of training under someone related to the infamous Ukai. The retired coach was the sole reason why Tanaka--as well as the other second and third years--enrolled to Karasuno, so being able to work with another Ukai was like a dream come true. 

“Waaah, you’re so cool, teach!” Hinata praised with stars literally hanging in his eyes. Takeda watched in interest as four specific team members watched Hinata in the corner of their eyes with equal amounts of irritation, fondness, and amusement. 

“Calm down, dumbass.” Kageyama scowled, elbowing Hinata in the gut. Hinata responded by sticking out his tongue and bouncing back when the taller raven haired male haired male reached out to grab his head. 

“Don’t be ungrateful, Stingyama! You should thank Takeda for everything he’s done for us!” 

“For once, I agree with shorty.” Tsukishima smugly smiled. “You know it’s common sense to be courteous towards our advisor, king.” Kageyama directed his glare towards the taller blond this time, but the other remained unfazed as ever. Yamaguchi giggled softly behind nervous slim fingers, causing Hinata to beam at how adorable the sound was. When noticing the sunshine like glow from the literal reincarnation of the sun, Yamaguchi’s cheeks blossomed with pretty cherry blossom petals. 

“Well, it’s settled!” Daichi’s voice brought everyone’s attention back on him. “Everyone properly thank Takeda-sensei!” All at once, the team bowed down to Takeda (except for a stony faced Tsukishima, who just dipped his head in respect--it was honestly a wonder he even  _ did  _ acknowledge Takeda given his asshole personality). 

“THANK YOU VERY MUCH!” The group collectively yelped, loud enough for all of Miyagi to hear. Takeda blinked, his glasses comically askew as he regarded the crows with surprise from the boisterous outburst. Immediately after, a large smile bloomed on his face as he fixed his appearance. 

“It was no problem at all. However, that’s not that only good news I brought.” Takeda grinned again, the closest thing to a shit eating grin he could manage with his baby face. “I also caught a certain team’s interest again… And I may or may not have scheduled a practice game in the next four days.”

He winked at Daichi and Sugawara--the only third years--with a playful grin scrawled on his lips. Daichi rose his eyebrows in a way only fathers did when they discovered a sale on a BBQ grill or something just as dad-like. Sugawara positively lit up in response as well, his mole standing out from his endearing smile.

“A certain team?” Hinata asked in confusion, tipping his head to one side in complete curiosity. And yeah, the other first years may have unconsciously felt like their sanity was snapping at being present in such an adorable act, but no one had to  _ know _ .

“Yes.” Takeda agreed, nodding amiably. 

“Nekoma.” Daichi finally spoke up. His eyes gleamed with determination, a shiny coating of excitement on his dark brown orbs that turned more vibrant as a wry smile expanded on his face. Beside him, Sugawara bobbed his head up and down in agreement, his face mirroring his partner’s. 

“OOOOH!” Tanaka exclaimed excitedly. The three other second years’ eyes lit up at the mention of their famed rival as well, leaving only the lost first years to snap their attention back and forth between their exhilarated second years and their shell shocked third years. Takeda stood amongst the rowdy teenagers, a proud smile as obvious as the delight written on the volleyball team’s face.

“Nekoma?” Kageyama asked first; he did not enjoy being left out of the loop, especially in regards to his precious volleyball. Hinata bobbed his head up and down with Kageyama’s words. For once, they could agree on something.

“They are our fated rivals.” Sugawara explained. A nostalgic, almost bittersweet expression flashed across his wise golden orbs before he reverted back to his normal self. “Back when Coach Ukai trained Karasuno, Nekoma was also going through their own victorious glory. Nekoma’s coach knows Coach Ukai very well, and they always dreamed of battling on stage during nationals.” He sighed in disappointment, honey eyes drooping with unadulterated sadness.

“Unfortunately, neither of the teams made it. And a year later, Ukai retired from his work. It was like the dream faded away with Karasuno’s former glory.” Sugawara snapped out of his daze when he noticed the sudden quiet surrounding the gym. Daichi was the only one who knew how truly meaningful this event was, especially considering the fact that they attended Karasuno in hopes of Ukai coming out of retirement to train the volleyball club once more. 

“Suga--” Tanaka began, only to be stopped by an indestructible force of determination. A wave of heat passed amongst the members; it felt more like a chill, however, for they shuddered from the sheer animosity from a certain source. The sun child--and not for the first time--was as brilliant and blinding as the real deal.

“We’re going to win.” He burned. His hair burned, his soul  _ scorched _ . Behind him, Kageyama stood as his shadow, the same serious tone reflecting off the darkness his bangs created over his unyielding eyes. Tsukishima huffed, more relaxed than his fellow classmates, but his caramel eyes were the moon’s own rays dotting Karasuno’s future. Yamaguchi, his faithful companion, nervously chewed on his lip, but still maintained a brave face as a soldier would.

The second years and third years couldn’t help but think of the future of Karasuno. And seeing the youngest years now, they had full belief in the fact that Karasuno would go far beyond anything anyone imagined. For the first time in forever, they would  _ soar _ . 

His voice brought them to him like a prophet’s mysterious powers. He captivated them, a mere first year with dreams bigger than his doe eyes and a familiar passion towards volleyball that connected him to the past, present, and future of Karasuno’s volleyball club. Hinata would no doubt surpass the original “Little Giant”, his peers thought, the cloud of doubt covering their earlier excitement no longer nagging in the back of their heads. 

“He’s right.” Daichi nodded. “We beat Aoba Jousai, one of the top four in our prefecture.” As he continued, confidence radiated within each and everyone of the team members, even the most commonly forgotten ones. “And with our new coach, Karasuno will restore its former glory!” 

“OSU!” The team hollered, which ended with unnecessary pumped up hooting from Tanaka, who was later joined by an eager Hinata and a reluctant Kageyama (he was hazed into doing it). 

“You’re a good captain, Sawamura.” Takeda commented in bemusement as he watched the younger team members arguing, deflecting/dodging hits, being pacified by a frantic Tanaka (who glanced at Daichi with anxiety) and a motherly Ennoshita, chattering excitedly once the fight wore off, then repeating everything all over again. 

Daichi sighed, trying in vain to fight off a migraine the size of Pangea without screaming. “Someone has to be responsible other than Sugawara and Ennoshita.” 

“And I’m not as good as Daichi when it comes to controlling the younger ones.” Sugawara added, smiling sweetly to Takeda. 

Takeda responded with a gentle laugh. “I can tell. They do respect you a lot, however, captain.” 

“I know.” A fond, fleeting grin rose on Daichi’s face before vanishing along with his patience. In the next second, he yelled at the team to begin practice instead of slacking off. His loud, booming dad voice echoed across the trembling walls as the team scrambled to start off with warm up stretches. Sugawara and Takeda openly chuckled at the humorous display. 

“Alright, well, the coach should be here anytime soon… He said someone would take care of his evening shift, so he’ll be here soon.” 

“Who is he?” Sugawara curiously inquired.

“Ah, well, he’s actually---” 

“Sorry I’m late! Mom wouldn’t let me go just yet, so I was stuck with her.” Ukai Keishin, the cashier from the  _ Sakanoshita Store _ that the Karasuno team (and all of Karasuno honestly) almost always frequented, stood coolly by the entrance of the gym with a cocky smile and a hand propped on his hip. His sharp smile, narrow eyes, dyed hair with piercings on his left ear, and broad shouldered stance radiated with brilliant confidence and unwavering strength. He was no doubt related to the formidable Coach Ukai’s. 

“Eh?!” 

“ _ You’re  _ our new coach?!” Was the collective response from the shocked Karasuno team. Ukai sauntered inside the gym before standing in front of the momentarily paused team. He nodded at the team, eyeing each individual with interest. 

“I’m Ukai Keishin, your new coach.” The faux blond introduced himself. Takeda stepped in next, standing adjacent to Ukai with a bubbly grin. 

“Did he say Ukai?” Kinnoshita muttered loudly enough for the rest of the team to hear. Ennoshita’s droopy eyes widened and Narita whispered something to Tanaka. Meanwhile, Hinata could barely contain the giddy upturn of his lips. He exchanged a zealous look with Kageyama, who seemed to be in the same state he was. They were going to train with another  _ Ukai  _ and then brandish their new skills in a match versus Nekoma. 

“I’m Ukai Ikkei’s grandson. I used to play for Karasuno about eight years ago.” Ukai finished his sentence by rifling through his pockets until he procured a new cigarette from his left pocket. In under five seconds flat, he lit the cigarette and propped it against his lips. Fucking unbelievable. 

Daichi looked about half a second from lecturing their new coach, formalities and politeness be damned. Fortunately, Takeda butt in before anything dire could truly happen and his carefully formatted plans were foiled by the awkward tension in the gym. 

“Ukai is here to help us until after the practice match.” He summarized easily, smiling in a benevolent manner as reassurement. 

“Yeah,” Ukai said in between his cigarette, “I’m only here to help until you guys play against Nekoma. That was the deal  _ sensei  _ and I made.” Hinata was a little discouraged at Ukai’s blunt words since they wouldn’t have an official coach. However, he knew he would just have to work harder to ensure Karasuno’s victory! He would do anything to restore Karasuno’s former glory and patch up the holes between the third years. 

“Speaking of which, since the practice match is coming up soon, I arranged our own practice match between the  _ Neighborhood Volleyball Association Team _ and you guys. They should be here any minute now.” He said indifferently, as if he hadn’t just scheduled an unprepared match between older, experienced volleyball players and the unbalanced Karasuno volleyball team. 

“Wait, what?” Yamaguchi voiced aloud in disbelief. They’ve literally only began stretches before this whole fiasco happened. 

“Wait, that fast?” Even Kiyoko seemed surprised at the sudden match between her teammates and another volleyball team. 

“Alright, then we have to hurry up and warm up as soon as possible!” Daichi yelped out orders faster than _ Sonic  _ ran at that point. Mild chaos reigned above the team for a few minutes before rationality slowly came back to them and they began to quickly stretch. 

Hinata proved to be  _ very  _ flexible (and  _ no _ , Tsukishima was  _ not  _ staring, Kageyama was  _ not  _ oogling, and Yamaguchi was  _ not  _ very impressed). He stretched down to his toes with minimal effort and even performed the splits at one time in order to stretch out his upper thighs as well. Ennoshita literally had to cough to direct attention back to their stretches when Hinata performed side reaches and runner’s stretches because his shirt began to ride up, revealing taut muscles, a smooth stomach with barely definable abs, and soft looking skin. 

While Hinata zoned out on other more important matters, he managed to find a familiar tuft of long chestnut hair pulled back in a messy bun. Instantly, he jumped up to his feet before launching up to the barred window. His hands were practically glued to the bars from the window as his feet planted firmly against the wall, resulting in his nice butt sticking out. 

“Ah, it’s Asahi-san!” Hinata yelped, balancing himself easily against the wall as he waved erratically to a panicked Asahi. Asahi nearly fainted when Daichi and Sugawara sprinted over to the gym doors in shock and the rest of the team trickled over at a slower pace to sate their curiosity. 

“Oh? Shouldn’t you be in uniform then?” Ukai questioned, cigarette still clenched between his teeth. Asahi meeped at the intimidating looking male. “Perfect. I was wondering where the ace was.” The brunette visibly flinched, looking intent on running away before anyone could catch him. 

“No, coach, actually he’s--” 

“I’ll do it.” Asahi announced. He shakily inhaled a deep breath, caught Hinata’s shining eyes directed at  _ him  _ as if  _ he  _ was an idol, and hesitantly walked over to the gym. He smiled weakly at a gaping Sugawara and a wide eyed Daichi, who never expected him to show up again after the terrible fight between him and Nishinoya. 

Speaking of which… Hinata hollered again, this time attracting attention to someone else all too familiar with the volleyball team. 

“Nishinoya-senpai! You’re here too?” 

“Damn it, Shouyou.” Nishinoya muttered under his breath, but he abruptly stopped when he noticed who was standing in front of the gym doors. “Asahi…?” He breathed in disbelief. His heart pounded nonstop, as if about to leap out of his throat and back into Asahi’s arms. The libero stared at an uncomfortably smiling Asahi, who smiled at him once out of respect before turning away like the coward he was. 

“And you must be the libero,” Ukai announced his presence to the other. “Hurry up and get in here. The match is about to start between your teammates and another volleyball team.” He ended his statement with a dismissive wave of his hand before languidly strolling back further into the gym. Daichi and Sugawara hadn’t even  _ breathed  _ for the past three minutes of this ordeal. 

“Asahi… You’re  _ playing _ ?” Nishinoya followed Asahi and the rest back into the gym. The flapping of a crow’s wings could be heard from outside, indicating its perch on the tree. 

“Yeah.” Asahi weakly replied. Nishinoya opened his mouth to quell the burning need to  _ know _ , but Hinata beat him to it as he ran up to Asahi with starry eyes that they couldn’t look away from. Kageyama tagged along, mainly due to his own curiosity, but he looked like he was Hinata’s guardian. 

“Asahi-san, you’re really playing!” Hinata happily said. “Hopefully what we talked about was helpful! Suga told me that you’re really strong as an ace!” Nishinoya kind of wanted to snort and deny that claim, that Asahi was as strong as he was  _ brave _ , but the words shrivelled up and died on his throat as soon as he inhaled. The familiar scent of salonpas, rubber, and sweat smelled like freedom to him, something so tangible that he couldn’t believe he was back in the gym without a single protest on his part. He couldn’t believe  _ Asahi  _ was back in the gym. 

“Yeah, I guess.” Asahi shrugged helplessly. He was just as lost as his companions. 

“Noya!” Tanaka finally erupted. He clung onto Nishinoya like a military person returning back to their family safe and sound. “IT’S BEEN SO LONG!” Nishinoya grinned brightly, returning the embrace with as much enthusiasm and joy as his best bro was. 

“Ryuu! How is---” Instantly, his eyes snapped to Kiyoko, whose hair seemed to be fluttering with imaginary wind and her placid expression of her face as beautiful as the largest sparkling jewel. “KIYOKO-SAN!” He wrenched his whole body out of Tanaka’s arms and hurled his body over to the beautiful manager like a volleyball thrown out of control. As quick as lightning, Kiyoko ducked for him to leap over to her and Nishinoya landed on the ground with more dignity and pride than he should have. 

Daichi sighed, partly exasperated and entirely in relief. “At least Nishinoya hasn’t changed a bit.” He stared over at Asahi with an even gaze. The man flinched under the intense glare. “And you haven’t changed at all, beardie.” Daichi shook his head, but fondness still clung to his words and the smile on his face was gentle. 

That was not was Asahi was expecting at all. He expected to be yelled at in a Daichi’s furious captain voice and to be reprimanded by second in command Sugawara. He expected Tanaka to join in the fray, with Nishinoya crawling out of the vents or something and calling him “coward, coward” (even though he truly believed he was one). Instead, he was greeted by a familiar nostalgia that rattled at his quaking bones and a realization of the sweet bonds of friendship he held between him and the volleyball team. 

“Ah, sorry we’re late!” A raven haired male haired man with crimson glasses apologized. Behind him, three other guys rushed in as well until the four of them were standing in front of the exit. It was like a giant wall that illustrated how there was no way out for the Karasuno team in the match.

“It’s your fault for asking for us last minute, you know.” The one with dyed blond hair complained.

“Guys,” Ukai ignored all of his friends’ complaints and grinned at all of the curious members of the volleyball team. “This is the  _ Neighborhood Volleyball Association Team _ .” 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk what im doing also the conversation still sounds too similar in this chapter (and the beginning of the next chapter) but i swear there will be more original content instead of me consistently watching the anime and nearly word-by-word copying the subs smh
> 
> sorry im such a mess but i went back and edited all the previous chapters so the dialogue wasnt all the same (very similar tho :// my english prof would be disappointed)--on other unrelated news, i never realized how utterly cheesy this fic was and how much i wanted to emphasize how "cute" and "badass", etc hinata was to reveal everyone's pining towards him like man i was dumb back then aldjalfka;j

**Author's Note:**

> "number one rule of the hinata (x everyone) club: don't talk about the hinata (x everyone) club"


End file.
